Sarah and the Prince of the Land of Stench
by Rebellion of the Kat
Summary: What happens when a dwarf and a Goblin King both fall for human girl?
1. Miss Williams

**Sarah and the Prince of the Land of Stench**

There are not many other girls like Sarah. I can imagine if you yourself ever received a late night visit from the Goblin King, you would fall in a faint! Don't give me that nonsense about how you've been waiting for him all these years, so that you would simply welcome him with open arms, then proceed to make sweet passionate love to him. He just flew into your window, for Christ's sake! You would scream, and you would hit him over the head with one of your slippers (not the fluffy kind, the ones with the strong, hard soles). Then, once you had gotten over the shock, you would call the police, and you would interrogate him intensely, asking a large number of questions as to why a man, dressed like the love child of Prince and Tina Tuner, could juggle numerous crystal balls in his hand and transport you to a giant maze in less than a second!

But not Sarah. She didn't need to ask questions, nor did she seem then slightest bit shocked when Jareth first infringed upon her daily life. She accepted whatever the world brought her and dealt with it as if it happened to everybody, everyday. It was no surprise that she managed to sail through life since the day she returned from saving her baby brother. Yes, Miss Williams graduated high school with ease. Soon after, she effortlessly landed herself as an infant school teaching assistant, a job she loved very much - which was pretty surprising since most of the teachers were very unpleasant to her. They didn't include her in their 'adult' conversations. They didn't treat her as one of them. Of course, they were jealous of her. The kids adored Sarah more than any other teacher, and they had every reason to. She was younger, prettier and actually listened to what they had to say. Mrs Taylor, teacher of the second grade, often ogled Sarah in the corner of her eye, wishing that her luxurious auburn hair belonged to her, as her own hair had greyed and thinned out. She was one of those people that victimized someone just for the fact that she was simply envious of them. Every wrong move Sarah made gave Mrs Taylor the chance to reprimand her in front of all the other teachers.

"Miss Williams! Miss Williams, are you listening?" yelled Mrs Taylor for the third time. She had been asking Sarah to gather the children for five minutes.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry Jean, I'll do it right away!" replied Sarah, who quickly stood up from the mud-spattered ground wiping the dirt off her jeans. Then, she hurried over to the flock of kids, who had already gotten filthy just from walking a few yards to the pond at the back of the school field.

"It's Mrs Taylor! Don't use my first name in front of the children!" she shouted after her.

"Sorry! I forgot!" Sarah called back, and soon enough, she had tamed the disorderly children so that they marched single file down to the pond, much to Jean Taylor's astonishment. Every time _she_tried to discipline the kids, they would run amok, and that was simply because the children did not respect her. She wasn't like Sarah at all. Sarah adored teaching children for the pure reason that she was allowed to share her thoughts and ideas with people who she could relate to - people who became excited over the little things, like the detail of a spider's web. Unlike most adults, Sarah had managed to hold on to her youthful imagination. Her dreams and fantasies didn't sift through her brain like the other teachers she worked with. That was why the children liked Sarah the best. She could make the dullest of stories seem exciting.

"Here we are then!" exclaimed Sarah, who immediately got all the kids kneeling beside the pond, marvelling at the wonders of nature. They 'ooohed' and 'ahhhed' as she taught them about the local wildlife. "That's a water strider. It skates across the water by using it's long legs… and look over there at that pond turtle. He looks like he's just woken up doesn't he. Look at his lazy eye!"

The kids all laughed, but the hilarity was broken by the divertive cough that Mrs Taylor produced. Sarah turned to see her supervisor standing behind her, with crossed arms and a venomous scowl across her face.

"Granted, you've done your research, Miss Williams, but that is not how we do it in this school. The children first need to be taught the outside safety rules, then we need to place them into appropriate groups. It is only then that we can begin to teach them about the nature of wildlife" said the teacher.

Sarah stood up timidly, looking more than humiliated.

"Sorry, Mrs Taylor. I'm new to this whole field trip thing. I should have known better."

"That's okay, Miss Williams. Just watch how I do it and next time you might actually get it right!"

For the next half hour, Sarah remained quiet, and watched as Mrs Taylor drained the life out of the second-graders. She spent almost twenty minutes telling them what _not_ to do when observing pond wildlife. Sarah knew that the kids could have learnt so much about nature in that time. Eventually, they began to look at the water. Some of the kids got thoroughly excited when they saw all the different kinds of animals. Occasionally, they would look back at Miss Williams and share a secret smile with her, laughing at the fact that Mrs Taylor kept on spurting out words that children at that age could not understand, let alone remember.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Cindy, the cutest little girl of the class. "My paper, my paper! It's fell in the water. My drawing was on there!" Cindy began to cry.

"Oh, don't worry, honey. I'll get it for you." Sarah knelt beside the pond and began to stretch out her arm to try and reach for the sheet of paper.

"That won't be necessary, Miss Williams. Cindy will just have to start over again." said Mrs Taylor, who began to pull of a clean white sheet.

"It's okay. I've almost got it." Sarah's fingers were inches away from the picture now.

"Miss Williams, I told you to leave it alone!" the teacher shouted, as Cindy's cries rose in volume. It was not in Sarah's nature to deprive a young child of their own creation. She knew how important simple things like drawings were. "Miss Williams, you're going to fall in if you're not careful. I said leave it!"

"She's shouting at Miss Williams." giggled one of the other children as they all watched and whisper to each other.

"Here we are! I've got it!" smiled Sarah, who managed to touch the tip of the paper with her fingers. But it was too late. She failed to notice that Mrs Taylor had already knelt beside her and tried to pull her away from the pond. This startled her, so much so that she quickly jolted around to accidentally hit the teacher in the face! Then, from shock, Sarah lost her balance and fell backwards into the pond!

She screamed.  
The children screamed.  
*SPLASH*  
Dirty pond water splattered all over the children, and even worse, Mrs Taylor's best suit! They were all filthy, especially Sarah who now resembled some kind of swamp-monster, as she tried to clamber out of the water. She gazed awkwardly at Mrs Taylor, who glowered at her furiously. The kids seemed to be having a whale of a time, but Sarah knew that she would not be let off lightly.

* * *

A few hours later when school had finished Sarah arrived at her home.

"Oh, it was horrible!" she cried, slamming her apartment door to make a theatrical entrance, knowing perfectly well that her roommate had gone on vacation already. She threw down her bag and coat and groaned to herself, facing the mirror as she did so. Then she began to removed her mud-spattered clothes until she was completely naked, not that it mattered. Nobody was around. She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Before she hopped into the bathtub, she turned to face the mirror once more.

"What have you done?" she asked her reflection. "If she fires you, you'll have nothing. Then what are you going to do?"

She heft a long sigh, then proceeded to take her shower. While she washed herself, she could have sworn that she had heard someone moving around in her bedroom, rummaging through her things. Eventually, she smothered herself in her thick fluffy robe and walked back into her room. She must've imagined it. Nobody was there.

Now that she was home, she could act however she pleased, and Sarah chose to act a little childish. It was her way of dealing with stress. She turned to her dreams and fantasies every time her day got her feeling down, which unfortunately was quite often. She lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling at the smartly placed posters of fairytale scenes. She became so lost in her thoughts that she almost failed to notice the creak of her bedroom door. Her eyes suddenly grew wide at the awareness of an intruder. The footsteps began to walk slowly up to her bed. Then, her alarmed expression swiftly turned to a childlike smirk.

"I'm glad you've come." she murmured, still lying down, facing the ceiling. Then, she sat up and turned to face the trespasser, grinning at the friend who never failed to come to her side whenever she felt frazzled. "Come here, Hoggle. Give me a hug!"

The little dwarf's eyes lit up, as he scrambled onto the bed and collapsed into the arms of his best friend. He hadn't changed. He still wore the same old ruffled shirt and waistcoat, with raggedy brown slacks and broken boots. His face still bore the same amount of wrinkles, and the same heavy eyebrows which framed his somewhat innocent blue eyes. And, of course, he still carried around his jewels like his life depended upon them, particularly the bracelet Sarah had given him all those years ago.

"I've missed you Sarah. It's been a long time!" said Hoggle, to which Sarah responded with a giggle.

"It's only been a couple of weeks!" she laughed.

"Seems like a year to me," he replied, and she embraced him again.

"So where are the others?" she enquired. "It's not like you to come alone."

"Here we are, my Lady" called a voice from behind her.

"Sarah!" another pronounced.

At that moment, a noble fox, along with a big friendly chestnut giant came marching through her door. Her face glowed like a child at Christmas, as she raced over to her friends and squeezed them so tightly they could hardly breathe. Sir Didymus chuckled, as he straightened out his little blue hat and eye-patch, while Ludo picked her up and swung her around until she felt dizzy.

For the rest of the night, the friends all sat together on the bed and exchanged their stories. It was during these times Sarah learnt that nothing new really ever went on in the Labyrinth, which surprised her, since last time she was there everything always seemed to change. But from their tales, it seemed that the Bog was still the Bog, the City was still the City and the castle was still the castle. When she asked about the King, Hoggle simply told her that Jareth had grown tired of his old games, and spent most of his days sitting on his throne waiting for some kind of miracle. Then he swiftly turned the subject onto Sarah, and she proceeded to inform them all of her horrific day.

"It's not fair though!" she expressed. "I worked so hard. The kids love me. They say they learn so much more from me than what that stupid Jean Taylor teaches them, and now I'm going to be fired, just for trying to bring a little fun into the classroom."

"You don't know that Sarah. You'll prob'ly just be let off with a warning. That's all" urged Hoggle, trying his best to consolidate her.

"No, you don't know that teacher. She sucks up to the Principal like you wouldn't believe. I might as well face it. I'm unemployed." She hung her head in her hands.

"Fear not, my Lady" said Didymus, who showed off his pointy white teeth as he grinned.

"Yer. Who needs a job anyways?" posed Hoggle.

"Job bad. Friends good" added the ogre, to which Sarah smiled.

"If only it was that easy. In this world, it's all about the work. If you haven't got a job, you've got nothing. Not like in the Labyrinth" she pondered.

"Don't be so sure about that, Sarah. We 'ave to work too. Jareth is always makin' me do lots of jobs; guardin' the entry, looking out fer enemies. And he's always watchin' for me to mess up so he can threaten to throw me in the Bog Of Eternal Stench" stated Hoggle.

"Well, he hasn't changed much then, has he? Why don't you all just confront him?" she quizzed, but her friends only gasped at her comment.

"Scared!" uttered Ludo, who shook his head so that his large horns almost knocked one of Sarah's pictures off the wall.

"Ludo is right" agreed Hoggle. "Don't wanna get on Jareth's bad side again!"

"Oh, come my brothers! Why are thou so cowardly?" asked Didymus. "We defeated him once. We can do it again. I, for one, can fight anyone, anywhere, anyplace, anytime!" Didymus jumped onto his feet and raised his cane in a dramatic gesture, only for Ludo to pull him back down to the bed with less than a nudge. The fox shook his head. "See what I have to put up with?" he muttered.

Then, Sarah had an idea; a light bulb moment if there ever was one.

"Well, then I'll talk to him!" she declared, grinning in excitement at the thought of returning to the Labyrinth after all these years. "You can take me back with you, and I can have a word."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Sarah. Jareth said he don't want you anywhere near the Labyrinth. He don't wanna see your face ever again" informed Hoggle.

Sarah pouted childishly, then groaned.

"Oh, I haven't seen that place in ages! He can't still be holding a grudge after five years, can he? I don't have to talk to him. He doesn't even have to know that I'm there, and I'll only be there for one day. I promise! I want to meet some of the strange creatures I saw last time. The nights get so lonely for me after you leave. Please." Sarah begged.

Hoggle thought for a second, but then he realised that he had to put his foot down.

"No. I won't let you. If Jareth finds out you're there I don't know what he'll do to you, and I'm not gonna take you there just to find out. Now, lets talk about something' else!" Hoggle scanned his tiny brain for something new to talk about, until he settled upon a topic. "Say er' have you got yerself a boyfriend yet, Sarah?"

"No," she scoffed. "The only boy who's asked me out in the last few months was one of the fourth-graders. I mean, he was sweet, but just twelve years too young" she joked.

"Well, that's good" remarked Hoggle. Then he coughed. "Well, I mean yer don't want to be rushing into anything don't yer."

Sarah shook her head half-heartedly, still disappointed that the proposition of her returning to the Labyrinth had been wiped off the table completely.

* * *

While this conversation was in occurrence, another individual was also brooding about his boredom and loneliness. Imagine how forlorn you would feel to be completely isolated from every living person in the entire universe, to be forced to dwell in a secluded castle, having so much power but sharing it with nobody and having so much love to give but sharing it with nobody. He sat on his throne, the place where he always sat when he was in one of his moods. His platinum wiry hair mirrored through the crystal ball that he twiddled about in his gloved hand. He didn't even bother to quiet the unruly crowd of goblins that paraded through his court. He just didn't care enough anymore. He wanted something more. Something, or someone.


	2. The Mirror

Judgement day had arrived, and Sarah stood bashfully in front of a large rectangular desk. Even though she was expecting it, it still came as a shock.

"Miss Williams. I'm afraid I've have no other alternative. I'm going to have to dismiss you" announced Principal Waltham, who looked down on her behind his thick spectacles and grey suit. Sarah appeared shaken, as if she would burst into a flame of tears at any given moment. However, as much as this pained her, it wasn't in her nature to show weakness to anyone, so she tried her hardest to fight back her tears and fight for her position.

"Mr. Waltham, I know I've disappointed you, but I worked so hard, and I want this job so very much! I apologise for yesterday, and if you just give me one more chance, I know I wouldn't let it happen again!" she pleaded.

"On the contrary, it's not just about yesterday, Miss Williams. You have been on trial for over a week now, and I have come to the conclusion that we need someone a little older, a little more experienced and a little more disciplined with children. Kids need to take orders from adults, not form long-lasting friendships. I'm sure you'll do fine to get another job soon. This one just isn't right for you."

Sarah was more than upset. It was her first ever job in her chosen profession, and she had been fired. Still, she knew better than to leave the room kicking up a fuss, so she took a deep breath and raised her head.

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity anyway" she said weakly, before walking away from what she thought would be a large part of her future.

* * *

The journey home seemed a whole lot more miserable than she had ever known it to be. Even the sun didn't bother to shine on her like it usually did. Looking through the large iron school gates, she saw the children playing happily. Tears formed in her eyes as watched little Cindy dance around in circles. Sarah should have been a part of that.

"Miss Williams! Miss Williams!" called a little brown-haired boy, who skipped over to the gate. "Why aren't you playing with us? Are you going home? Have you got a bad tummy ?"

"No, Colin. I'm afraid I'm not working here anymore." She tried to smile as best she could.

"Don't you like us anymore, Miss?" he enquired, to which Sarah knelt down beside him and leaned against the iron bars.

"Of course, I like you! I like you all. And I'll miss all of you very much. Me and the Principal just had a disagreement, so I'm really sorry I can't be with you anymore Colin. Can you do me a favour? Tell all the other kids to be good for me, won't you?"

"Yes, Miss! I will!" he beamed.

"Thank you, Colin." She chugged his chin to show her gratitude, and with that, the little boy ran off to spread the news. Sarah was no longer going to be a part of their lives.

* * *

"Well, that's it. It's over!" Sarah announced later that night, as she lounged on her bed in her jeans and cotton sweater. It was only Hoggle that was with her this time, and he too stretched himself across the mattress. Sarah didn't even seem to care about the mud that the dwarf scattered all over her linen.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. If there was anything I could do, I would. Here, do you want me to send some goblins over there, and teach that teacher a few lessons of our own?" he offered. But Sarah shot Hoggle an annoyed look.

"Hostility is not the answer, Hoggle! Maybe in your world, but not here!" Then her face lit up. She bit her lip and looked longingly at her friend.

"What you givin' me that look for?" asked Hoggle.

"You said that if you could help me, you would, right?"

"Right!"

"Well, there is one thing that you can do."

Hoggle stared at her for a second, not sure what she was insinuating. Then, he realised what she was after.

"Oh, no. No way, Sarah. I told you yesterday, you ain't coming to the Labyrinth again! Jareth might 'ave been easy on you the last time, but you were just a kiddy then. He won't be 'appy if I let you there again."

"Come on, Hoggle!" she moaned. "You know the Labyrinth even better than he does."

"So?"

"So, you know all the best places to hide. He won't even know I'm there. Please, please, please?" Sarah gave him a puppy dog pout, knowing that as much as he tried to hide it, Hoggle was a soft touch. He paused for the longest time before ultimately agreeing to something he never thought he'd agree to.

"Oh, alright then, but don't say I didn't warn yer!"

"Thanks, Hoggle! Don't worry. I'll be there for two hours, tops!" She jumped up, excitedly, and began to brush her hair. Hoggle watched her as she tamed her dark tresses, confused as to why she felt the need to look pretty for an hour or two in the Labyrinth. Not that she didn't look beautiful anyway. "Besides, I'm having dinner with my dad tomorrow, so it's not like I'm planning to stay forever. So, how do we get in?" she asked, anxiously.

"Through there!" Hoggle pointed out his stubby little arm. She followed his finger until she reached the mirror that stretched in front of her. The dwarf then tottered over to the it, and took one last look at Sarah before he walked straight through it, as if it wasn't even there. There was no sound of glass breaking, or even squeaking the slightest little bit.

"I've never seen you do that before!" Sarah gawped, amazed, for it had been a long time since had been in the presence of magic.

"I've never let you see me do that before." called out Hoggle's voice from behind the mirror, which, strangely, still reflected her own complexion. "Didn't want to give you any ideas, did I? Now, hurry up, and get yer'self over here."

Bit by bit, she paced up to the mirror. She thought back to when she had encountered the talking worm on her first visit to the Labyrinth, who taught her how to walk through the brick wall. It certainly wasn't that hard, so how hard could walking through a mirror be? Running her fingers over the glass, she decided it would be best of she did it in one quick motion, so taking a profound breath, she stepped back, closed her eyes, then sauntered towards the mirror. Hoggle was already inside, waiting for her in the Labyrinth's garden. He could see Sarah from the other side of the glass, and watched in panic as she sprinted towards him, knowing that things were going to end badly. His suspicions were right, for instead of passing through it, she ended up bouncing back from it and falling with a thud on her bedroom floor. Now, the mirror made a sound!

"What happened?" she asked, as she picked herself up, rubbing her head where she banged it.

"You went too fast, Sarah. You can't just rush into a mirror and expect you'll get through it. You have to take yer time. Imagine that it ain't there. Try it again, but this time close yer eyes and think about it."

Shutting her eyelids, she attempted it once more, but the same thing happened again. Sarah huffed, beginning to feel dizzy from all the falling. It was a good job her lodger was on vacation. What would she have thought if she walked in to find her roommate ramming herself a plate of glass? A call to her parents and a trip to the psychiatric ward is what she would have thought.

"I closed my eyes, but then I opened them a second before I reached the glass, and it made me lose my balance!"

"Well, why don't ya blindfold them then? Might help you concentrate more."

Sarah liked the idea, and went over to her wardrobe to pull out an old scarf. Tying the scarf around her head, she turned to faced the mirror and stretched her arms out in front of her. Leisurely, she walked forward, all the time imagining that the mirror was no longer solid, but invisible. After a few steps she felt for the glass. She wasn't there yet, so she paced a little further…and further…and further. In fact, now it seemed like she'd been walking for ages.

"Am I there yet, Hoggle?" she solicited. Bizarrely, he did not reply, but after a few more steps she felt his attendance, so she halted in her tracks and reached out to touch her friend. "There you are!" she acknowledged, placing her hands on what seemed to be his head. "Are you trying to joke around with me? Why aren't you saying anything?" she laughed.

Only Sarah didn't know that it was not Hoggle that she felt in front of her, for the dwarf had been told to stay quiet. When she removed her blindfold off she gasped in fright when her eyes fell upon the one person she had vowed to stay away from.

"Jareth," she whispered, gawping at the man she thought she'd never meet again. He, too, stared back at her, raising his eyebrow condescendingly.

His presence was completely unexpected. She had almost forgotten what he looked like, but now the memories came flooding back; his deep, brooding eyes, his thin narrow mocking lips, his wild platinum hair, but most of all his fancy regal clothes which currently consisted of a black ruffled shirt and dark grey breeches. Of course he had a cape to accompany his attire and a sliver medallion to finish it off. Sarah gazed down at her own garments, and rapidly felt rather inferior. Her faded denim would doubtfully impress anyone, let alone a Goblin King. Not that she wanted to impress him. Oh, who was she kidding, of course she wanted to impress him! And now she felt humiliated, especially when she realised her hands were still in contact with the lower part of his body. Abruptly, she removed them, and Jareth let out a slight chortle.

He tried hard not to be captivated by her dark moon-shaped eyes and fair skin. She had lost her childish features since he last saw her, but she still kept her innocent expression, especially now since she displayed a look of pure bewilderment on her face.

Turning her head, she noticed Hoggle, who cowered away behind a rock in the corner. That was when she realised that she was now indeed, in the Labyrinth - well, the entrance to it anyway. She saw the lake where she and Hoggle had first met. It was still as dirty - maybe even more so. But small fairies still fluttered around it like it was something magical. Suddenly, it all became so familiar. She felt like a fifteen year old again, back when she bravely confronted Jareth and fought on the side of good. She knew she'd have to be that girl again if she wanted to get out of there unharmed, so she turned back to Jareth and looked him fearlessly in the eyes.

"Hello, Sarah" he said, in a charming, but slightly threatening, tone. "Trying to take over my Labyrinth again, are you? Surely you didn't think you could sneak in here and get away with it. What did you do, convince the dwarf to bring you here? Hmmm? Flutter your pretty eyelashes at him, and give him a horde of excuses about how you're lonely in your world and in need of a change of scenery." He looked at Hoggle. "I deal with you later!" he warned.

"Leave Hoggle alone! It wasn't his fault. I came through the mirror while he wasn't looking" demanded Sarah. She tried her best to appear courageous, but there was something seductive about his nature that made her feel weaker than she did the last time they had met.

"Still the same old Sarah" Jareth sighed as he began to pace around her, much to her displeasure. "Stubborn, childish, naïve…the list continues."

"I can say the same for you," she pointed out. "And for your information, I didn't come here because I felt lonely! I came to confront you."

"Really?" he said, seeming a little surprised. "I can assure you, Sarah, I have taken nothing from you. If your brother has gone missing again, may I suggest a leash?" he taunted.

"This isn't about Toby!" she stressed. "I came here because I don't like the way you treat my friends! You make them work for you like slaves!"

"They _are_ my slaves!" he urged. "And they will work for me whether they like it or not. No silly little girl will come into my kingdom, and tell me what I should and should not be doing." Jareth stopped pacing, moved closer to her and gritted his teeth. "Believe me Sarah, you wouldn't want to cross me again. I'm not as I was before. I can be very, very dangerous."

"In case you haven't noticed, I've changed too. I'm not a little girl anymore, and I won't let you mess me around like you did last time."

Jareth didn't like her talking to him like this. He hated anyone who challenged him, especially a young female. He grimaced, before turning to Hoggle, who still now covered his eyes with his hands.

"I want you to take Sarah home, Hognose. If I find her here again, you know what will happen to you."

"O' course, Jareth" Hoggle feared. "I'll do it right now. The lady don't wanna 'cause no trouble, ain't that right Sarah?" His soft blue eyes pleaded with hers, and she sighed, knowing that she didn't want to get her best friend into trouble after all he had done for her.

"Yes, that's right" she declared.

"Yer see. She'll go home without a fuss."

"Good" sneered Jareth, and with that he began to fade away. "Just remember what I said Sarah. If I ever catch you here again, I will not be so merciful!"

Then, the Goblin King was gone.

"Right then. Let's get you back to where you belong" Hoggle clapped his hands together, before toddling over to a rusty old mirror that was hidden between some shrubbery in the garden. He prepared to step through it, but when he noticed Sarah wasn't following him, he heft a large sigh. He knew what she was about to say.

"I'm not going back, Hoggle." Yes, she said it. The dwarf groaned and shook his head. "Don't worry. I won't get you in any trouble. As long as I'm around, Jareth won't touch you. We'll get Ludo to be with us at all times. There's no way he'll mess with Ludo. Then we'll try and find a way to turn all of his goblins against him. Once he sees that we're all furious with him, he'll have to change the rules!" As she said this, Hoggle began to breathe heavily, almost as if he was having a small heart attack. Sarah gasped and ran over to him to help him stand up straight. Once he had calmed down, she gazed into his beady eyes. "I know you're worried, but nobody calls my friend Hognose and get's away with it!" she stated, with a smile.


	3. Trapped

**Forty-two minutes later…**

"I'm coming, Sarah!" cried Hoggle.

She had been in Labyrinth less than an hour, and she'd fallen off a ledge, which towered over the Bog Of Eternal Stench. It seemed that the Labyrinth's course had changed a quite bit since the last time she visited, including the Bog. The oozing green swamp seemed a lot more ferocious than last time. It's slime was bubbling so high that she was afraid it was going to touch her. The weather also seemed more bracing than she had ever known it to be in the giant maze, as the wind swayed her back and forth.

"Help!" she shouted as she desperately tried to pull herself up from the rocky ledge.

"Grab me hand!" Hoggle yelled, as he tried to extend his dumpy upper limb for her to cling on to. "The Bog's getting higher!"

"It does that?" she screamed.

"It does now! Won't stop 'til it's got yer! Can't yer feel it pulling yer down?"

"Is that what it's doing! Oh, help me Hoggle. I don't want to smell bad for the rest of my life!"

"Your too heavy!" he shouted. "And the force of the Bog ain't helpin'!" He yanked her arm as much as he could, but the Bog's might was too strong for the little dwarf. Sarah tried hard to struggle herself up, but it was impossible. Her feet were dangling right over the swamp. It kept on rising until the odour was practically insufferable. She screamed every time she looked down, imagining what it would be like to reek of decomposed fish, human faeces, rotten flesh and stagnant water for the rest of her life. She just couldn't bear it.

"Please, Hoggle!" she beseeched once more, which put the dwarf under a vast amount of pressure. He knew he'd never forgive himself if he didn't find some way of rescuing her, so he gathered every remaining muscle in his undersized body and pulled with all his might. He wrenched her so hard, that his jewelled bracelet snapped from his hand and descended straight into the Bog. All of a sudden, the green ooze began to lower. They watched as the bog gulped it up and belched until his beloved bangle was no more. Hoggle sighed.

"Oh, that was me best piece of jewellery!" he moaned, mourning the loss of the tatty wristband Sarah had given to him all those years ago. She rolled her eyes at him. There she was dangling from a ledge, and he was grieving over a bracelet! "Look, Sarah! The Bog's going down! It was me bracelet. It must think that it's got you!" Hoggle declared. As the Bog went down, the vigour of its pull went down with it, and Hoggle quite easily managed to haul Sarah up to safety. Once, she was safe, they both collapsed against the far wall. "Not so bothered about me bracelet now. As long as you're okay" proclaimed Hoggle.

"Oh, thank you Hoggle! You saved me! You always save me! You're such a hero!" Sarah leaned forward and planted a kiss on Hoggle's cheek, which caused him to blush. When she turned her back to him, he lightly touched his cheek, as if she had given him something very special.

Still, what Hoggle and Sarah did not know was that they were indeed being watched the entire time. For just a few twists and turns away from them, a shiny crystal ball hovered in thin air. Into the ball gazed the Goblin King, who sat alone in a small room located inside his castle. Of course, Hoggle wasn't going to take her home - he knew that. Maybe that was exactly what he wanted. What he didn't want, however, was for Sarah to kiss him. It disturbed him deeply, for reasons he did not quite understand. He thought back the words that he said to Hoggle five years ago; _"if she ever kisses you I'll turn you into a Prince…Prince of the land of Stench!"_.

Oh, and wasn't he just going to stick to that promise!

* * *

"Now, I knows you wants to go explorin' some more, but I really do thinks it's best if you go home now, Sarah, just so's you don't get in any more trouble" advised Hoggle, while they strolled through the misty forest. But he could tell Sarah wasn't really paying attention to his words. She was too engrossed in the enchantment of the Labyrinth. He watched her as she marvelled at the trees, and the way the sunlight twinkled through them. As much as her curiosity aggravated him, he couldn't help but find her innocence rather lovely, especially the way her eyes always widened at the sight of something new. He watched as she reached out to touch a golden leaf, but became surprised when it grew legs and began to scurry away. She smiled in amusement, before turning to face Hoggle, who stood watching her with his beady eyes.

"Oh, Hoggle. Don't look at me like that. What about our plan to defeat Jareth? Don't you want to get your freedom from being his slave?" she posed, annoyed that her friend had become even more of a coward than she had known him to be.

"O' course I do, but… well, here's a thought; why don't we just continue our plan at your house? Then we won't be breaking any of Jareth's rules. I can bring the others over, if you like?"

"You're not going to give up, are you?" she sighed, to which he shook his head. Maybe he had a point. Jareth did seem pretty angry, and it made sense to devise a plan in a place where he wasn't always watching them. Besides, she knew how to get back to the Labyrinth now, so she could return another day, when Hoggle wasn't watching over her every step. "Okay then, let's go home," she said.

"Alright!" Hoggle jumped up with relief, and began to lead the way back to the Labyrinth's entrance, with Sarah trudging slowly behind him. "Hurry your horses!" he barked, his little legs tottering as fast as they possibly could through the gigantic maze.

She didn't understand what the big rush was. If Jareth was going to harm them, surely he would have done it by now. Nevertheless, she did as the dwarf told her and dashed around the hedges and stone walls until they reached the great iron door which would lead them to safety. They pushed it open at the same time. Only it wouldn't move; not one bit.

It seemed that Sarah was trapped!

"What's going on, Hoggle? Why won't it open?" she questioned.

"Allow me to answer that" spoke a stern voice from behind them, and they jolted around, shocked to see he Goblin King, who leaned casually against one of the side walls. Sarah fixated her eyes on at the man, who now dressed in sparkling crimson from top to toe. He changed his clothes more than she changed her own underwear! For a second, she wondered what his wardrobe was like, and what his most extravagant outfit was. For some reason, she imagined him clothed in a suit made entirely from bacon, but the thought disturbed her so she shook her head and went back to gazing at the figure that stood in front of her. "Oh, don't gawp at me like that, Sarah. I knew you would still be here. Only, I didn't think you'd give up so easily. Couldn't you have formed a secret alliance somewhere in my Labyrinth, and hatched your plan to turn all of my loyal goblins against me there?" he asked, smiling heinously. They didn't know what to say to that.

"Jareth, just let the girl go home. That's all she was going to do. We ain't makin' a plan no more!" insisted Hoggle, who flinched with his every word, knowing that he was not going to be let off lightly.

"I specifically told you to send her home straight away, Hodgepodge! But instead you had to take her gallivanting about the Bog Of Eternal Stench! It won't be hungry for hours now! But when it is…guess who'll be the first on to satisfy it's appetite!" Jareth threatened.

"Please forgive me, Master!" Hoggle threw himself down at Jareth's leg and began to grovel, to which Sarah rolled her eyes at her cowardly friend.

"Not this time, Hoggle. You have betrayed me one time too many, and you must learn your place." Jareth kicked the dwarf away from his leg and picked off the ground up by his ear.

"Hey, leave him alone!" cried Sarah, who ran up to the two of them and tried to yank Hoggle away from Jareth. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size for once, hmm? Oh, I remember! You always lose against people your own size, don't you, Jareth!"

Suddenly, he dropped Hoggle to the floor, and took a step back. His expression was that of humiliation, and for a second Sarah felt that maybe she had crossed the line. Then he glowered at her intently for a few seconds, before swinging his cape round, turning his back and strutting away.

"Wait! What do you expect me to do now?" she enquired. He turned back.

"Whatever you like. Stay with your friends, devise an evil plan - I don't care. But you will _not_ be leaving this Labyrinth; not now, not ever! For speaking so cruelly to me, you have become one of them. You may live in the forest area where Hogbrain's hut is located. You may gallivant about anywhere in the woods, but you are forbidden anywhere near my castle or the heart of the Labyrinth." He spoke in a low tone, through gritted teeth. It seemed that her words had really affected him, and now she regretted them.

"You can't do that!" she yelled.

"I think you'll find I can. You belong to me now, Sarah. You are my slave" he grinned.

"W…What are you going to do to me?" asked Hoggle, immediately regretting the question.

"You! Your punishment is simple enough; guilt. This girl will become so very sick and tired of living here that she won't be able to stand it. Now, how would you handle having that on your conscience?"

Hoggle gulped with fear. The thing he hated most was guilt, especially when he felt guilty about Sarah.

After Jareth had said all he had to say he disappeared again.

"Don't listen to him, Hoggle. You don't need to feel guilty. We'll find a way out sooner or later," Sarah assured, but Hoggle knew that with the Goblin King watching their every move, escape would be impossible.


	4. Drink?

For the next few days, Sarah tried to make the best of her imprisonment, by staying with Hoggle in his cramped cabin. It was small and musty, but it was the only place she could be safe. Every night, wild forest creatures frisked and frolicked about the cabin, including the monkey-like Fireys, who constantly taunted her by yelling that if she ever stepped foot outside the cabin, they would take off her head.

She had to wash her clothes every evening in a nearby lake, as she had brought no other garments with her. One of the few friendly goblins, named Shortstack, had kindly fashioned her a few patchwork jackets and shawls out of old linen materials. They made her look like a vagrant, but she was grateful all the same.

Hoggle let her have the bed, even though it was a few feet too small. In fact, Hoggle was extremely pleasant to Sarah during her stay. Ordinarily, he would spend his days alone, so he found it delightful to finally have a friend to share his time with. He brought her breakfast every morning, though Sarah didn't even recognise what food he had made. It was usually some kind of questionable broth, but she ate it all the same. He did everything to make sure she was comfy, and while he went off each day to fulfil his slave duties, she journeyed off to explore the Labyrinth. But her friends were right. It was nowhere near is complex as it used to be. The courses rarely changed, and the puzzles had already been solved. That was why she found it so easy to get around. Hoggle told her it had been like that since the day she returned home after she rescued Toby. He said is was as if time stopped; as if the entire Labyrinth stood still, waiting for someone to come and unfreeze it.

As she ambled through the cosmic stretch of meandering walls and lush waterways, her thoughts turned to Jareth, whom she hadn't seen since he warned her to stay away. In truth, she hadn't even thought about the plan to overpower him again, or how she was going to escape. Up until now, she had just been enjoying the wonders of the Labyrinth without the burden of rescuing her baby brother constantly on her mind. She knew that someday soon, she'd have to worry about how to get home, which would involve either confronting or begging him - and to be honest, the latter really didn't appeal to her. It was degrading enough the last time, when she had to boldly resist his charms, and so-called presents, in order to save Toby. As much as she loved her brother, the thought did cross her mind to leave him there and spend her remaining days living in the Labyrinth. There was something extremely captivating about the Goblin King that she had a hard time resisting. Of course, she wouldn't let him know that. As far as she was concerned, he was a vile pig of a man who teased and taunted others to cure his boredom. But why couldn't she get him off her mind? And why did she insist upon bombarding Hoggle with questions about the man every single night?

"He said that I was his slave now. Does that mean he's going to ask me to do chores for him, like you do, Hoggle?" she queried, as they sat in his hut eating fruit and berries she had harvested earlier. She found it funny how Hoggle went out to work each day, and she stayed home to pick the berries. It was almost like they were husband and wife. She laughed to herself even more, imagining Hoggle as her husband. What a peculiar sight that would be!

"What?" Hoggle snapped out of his fixation with the juicy apple he had been devouring. "Err…I don't knows. Jareth works in mysterious ways. He may ask you to do stuff fer him, or he may not. But for now, he's banned yer, so don't even think about going anywhere near that castle!"

"But why has banned me? He's not scared of me, is he?"

"No. But he knows that there are a lot of things unsaid between you two. He knows that you'll prob'ly be wantin' to go home soon, so if he totally blanks you out, then that'll make you get twitchy. Yer see, I knows how his head works. He plays mind games with yer. Very scheming, he is."

"Well, he better be aware that I can play games too!" she stated with confidence. "Anyway, how come you know so much about him?"

"Oh, when you've been in the Labyrinth as long as I has, you're bound to pick up a few of his antics."

"How long have you lived in the Labyrinth, Hoggle?"

"Oh, I don't really remember how long. You forgets things when all you do is sweep floors and squirt fairies all day."

"But you must have had a past here? A few stories to tell?"

"Not really" he replied, after hesitating. "Anyways, you don't wanna talk about me. I'm just a dwarf. Nothin' special about me."

"Oh, Hoggle! You'll always be special to me!"

"You mean that?"

"Of course" Sarah chuckled, while Hoggle smiled in secret. It appeared that he was more touched by her words than he liked to let on. There was a comfortable silence between the two for several minutes, before Sarah spoke again. "So how did Jareth come to be Goblin King? Did he inherit the position, or was he born into it?"

"I don't know" Hoggle sighed, rolling his eyes at the unwanted conversation of his disliked master.

"But you must know something! How long has he been a Goblin King for? And what exactly does a Goblin King do? Does he just sit around and wait until the goblins have stolen some innocent girl's brother or sister, and then set her a challenge to come and look for him? Or was that just me? Come on Hoggle, you must tell me something!"

"No I mustn't!" he snapped, surprising Sarah with his rage as he stood up and kicked an empty bowl with his foot. "I've had enough of talking about Jareth!"

"I'm sorry, Hoggle. I didn't mean to upset you. I…I was just curious" she uttered, saddened that she had made him so cross.

"It…It's alright. I'm just grouchy from being tired. That's all" he admitted. Then the pair became silent again. Only this time, it was an awkward silence for the remainder of the night.

* * *

On her fourth morning in the Labyrinth, Sarah awakened to the sounds of hummingbirds in the forest. Hoggle was still fast asleep. She knew this, because when he slept, he snored like a wildebeest. Not wanting to wake him, she crept over him and departed the hut. This time she decided to walk to the left, and as she sauntered along the secluded woodland, she admired the forest's charm. It was a jungle of fantasy, with golden leaves and silvery cobwebs that enthralled her imagination. An eerie silence saturated the district as she moseyed along, keeping a lookout for any kind of stimulating activity.

After strolling through the woods for almost an hour, and passing several malevolent fairies, she finally reached the very large tree she had been interested in since she first came to the Labyrinth. It must have been over two metres in diameter, big enough for Sarah to fit inside. Placing her dainty hand on it, she caressed the rough bark. It just felt an ordinary tree, so why did she feel so drawn to it? It was only it's size that made it stand out. Following the length of the tree, up to the sky, she noticed it was much taller than any of the surrounding trees. She couldn't even see the top. She began to walk around it to get a better view, and as she did, she thought she heard someone's voice coming from inside it.

'How did they get inside?' she thought, scanning the bark for some kind of inlet. She pressed her ear against it to listen, but to her astonishment, she fell straight through it, into the trunk, with the hole appearing out of nowhere. Landing with a thud, she yelped. But before she had the chance to regain composure, a gravelly voice startled her.

"Hey! What are you doing trespassing in my secret quarters?" grilled the creature. Sarah stood up from the base of the tree and examined the strange beast. He had brown, rock-like skin, and wore rags for clothing. He had a large pointy nose, heavy eyelids, and only a few wisps of grey hair. He was quite a tall being, and had to crook his back a little just so he could fit under the tree. Sarah could tell he didn't want to be disturbed, but she couldn't help but feel curious about a creature.

"What are you?" she asked, without thinking. After she'd spoken she realise how rude it was to ask someone, no matter how strange, what they were.

"Huh?" the creature grunted, as it turned to face the girl, straining its elderly eyes to examine her closer. "What am I, you say? Well, I'm a troll, of course!"

"A troll?" she replied, inquisitively. "But I thought trolls lived under bridges."

The troll frowned.

"Why would I wanna live under a bridge, where it's all soggy and smelly, hmm?" he queried. It was surprising to hear the troll talk about bad odours, for he had a horrendous stench that almost made Sarah lose her consciousness when he raised his arm a little. "You're one of those girls who reads too many books, ain't ya?" he questioned, to which she smiled.

"You caught me!" she quipped, moving closer to the fiend in the assumption that she had struck some kind of connection with him. "What are you doing there?" she asked, noticing that he was brewing some kind of tonic in a large steaming pot.

"Oh, err...I'm just making me self a drink, that's all. Stop being nosy!" he shouted, slapping her hands away when she tried to dip her fingers into the mixture. Then he stopped stirring and turned to her. "I don't mean to be rude, but were you thinking of going away at anytime, hmm? Girl?"

"Sorry. I'll…I'll leave you to it then. Nice to meet you!" Seeing she was unwanted, she began to make her way out of the tree.

"Wait! Girl!" hollered the troll, as she felt his craggy hand clutch her shoulder. "Drink?" he offered, holding a cup of tonic up to her face. It was brown in colour, and it didn't smell very pleasant.

"Umm, no, It's alright. I'm not thirsty."

"Oh, go on! You'll hurt my feelings if ya don't" he pressured.

Sarah hesitated, but eventually took the beaker from him. He watched with eagerness, as she guzzled down the dirty liquid. It tasted worse than she expected, like dirt mixed with rusty metal. From her distorted expression, he could tell she disliked it, but she managed to show him a smile of appreciation nevertheless.

"Thanks" she proclaimed, as she wiped the juice from her mouth. "Well, I really should get going now. Good…goodbye" she waved.

The troll mumbled something under his breath ,then turned his back to her without even saying goodbye, and with that, she scrambled out of the tree.

But as she re-entered daylight, she began to feel strange. A wave a dizziness swam about her head, and almost caused her to fall. The stillness of the air had been replaced with a strong wind, which also affected her balance. She rested for a while, which seemed to help with the problem, and once she felt more stable, she continued on her trails...

* * *

Browsing through the enchanted woodland, she was starting to realise that nothing special really ever happened around these parts. Sure it was beautiful, but she expected a little more motion. The only thing that appeared to change was the weather, but the cold and bitter breeze that kept on coming and going didn't exactly thrill her. Even the troll didn't seem interested in challenging her. Sarah knew that the more she spent time in the forest, the less the fascination of it stayed with her, and that the other areas of the Labyrinth probably contained much more excitement...

Looking further ahead, she could see the main body of the Labyrinth. Even further than that, was the Goblin City, which enclosed the one and only castle - home to Jareth. Yes, he had told her that the area was forbidden, but the thing about Sarah, was that if anyone prohibited her from anything, she'd want it so much more.


	5. Stolen Kiss

Like a floating dandelion seed, she approached the outlawed Goblin City. She was taken aback at how tranquil it seemed. The entrance had no guards to defend it, and the mammoth-sized metal giant that she conquered before didn't even bother to emerge from the great doors. When the gates closed with a high-pitched screech, she began to meander up to the castle. She half-expected to get caught in the midst of a silly goblin battle, like she had formerly experienced. Fortunately, however, there wasn't one single goblin in sight. She paced through the small town, fighting the harsh winds, her eyes appearing somewhat glazed, as if she wasn't really aware of what she was doing. She didn't even think about what trouble she was going to get in, as she gawped at the large castle that stood forebodingly in front of her. It was almost like she was being drawn to it by some indefinite force.

For a second time, she leered up at the fortress. Only this time, she gasped in bewilderment when her eyes met with the one and only Goblin King. His wild locks blew thunderously against the winds, as he observed her from a ledge that rested at the top of his stronghold. He seemed stunned to see her trespassing against his will. Still, he did not stop her from coming closer. He was too curious for that. Instead, he watched as she continued to stroll towards his castle, glassy-eyed and resolute. In fact, now that she had set eyes on him, she appeared to be even more determined to get up to him.

She entered the main doors, and marched straight through the foyer, without even stopping to examine her surroundings. It was like she was in some kind of trance, as she ambled up the marble stairs and came across the Escher room - the room in which she had found her brother in years ago. Last time, she had to surmount a maze of stairs which were scattered in every direction imaginable. Well, the stairs were still there, but this time they curved round to form a spiral of steps which led all the way up to the pinnacle of the castle. It was a long way up but Sarah immediately began to climb them. Up she went, as the staircase coiled round and round, never seeming to end. Glancing up and down she could see nothing but a black fog, which contrasted with the sandy colour of the steps. She walked on and on without hesitating, her eyes fixated on her destination.

When she finally reached the top, she found herself standing on a petite window ledge, which she recognised to be that one that Jareth had been looking out of, just moments ago. But where was he?

Her eyes grew wide with panic as she gazed around to try and locate him. There was no other way out of the room, so where could he have gone? She ran over to the ledge and gazed down, where could see the entire Goblin City - still as quiet as before. The only thing that made noise was the wind, which became so strong, that it almost made her topple from the edge.

"Careful, Sarah!" Jareth appeared out of nowhere and stood far behind her, causing her to jump back from the ledge. Slowly, she turned to face him. At first she seemed frightened, but then she smiled.

Reminiscent of a lost sleeping beauty, who had just awakened from a deep and wistful slumber, she lingered before him, marvelling at his presence like she had just discovered a pot of gold. But why was she here? Jareth did not know. Intrigued, he gazed back at her, waiting for her to explain why she had so bravely chosen to disobey his rules. Yet she said nothing.

"Did you not hear my warning about you being in my castle?" he asked sternly. Still, she did not reply. She was to be too fixated with admiring him. This only made him more irritated. He stepped a little closer. "Answer me!" he demanded. This startled her a little, so she decided to respond.

"I couldn't keep away" she remarked, with a soft, heavenly voice.

"Why not?" he asked sharply, raising his left eyebrow.

"I…I don't know" she said, frowning with confusion.

Jareth examined her odd behaviour for a moment. He knew something wasn't quite right.

"Sarah, did you drink anything today? Anything peculiar?" he asked, watching her scan her brain in perplexity.

"Umm. Only the dirty water that the troll gave me" she answered, still in a quiet, gentle tone. It was clear to Jareth now that she was in some kind of daze.

"I see." Jareth gave a little smirk and began to pace around her, finding it amusing how unaware she was. He looked her up and down and then came back up to meet with her eyes, which looked rather like glazed marbles. "So, how are you finding my Labyrinth? Still missing home?"

"No. I never want to go back home. If I went home, you wouldn't be there!"

"And that would be a pity wouldn't it?" he responded, now unsurprised at her peculiar behaviour. He seemed to know what was causing her to be so enamoured, and took delight in playing a few games with her.

"Yes, it would" she agreed, closing her eyes as she inhaled in his alluring presence when he stepped closer towards her, grinning playfully as he did so. His face was now inches away from hers, and he took joy in how responsive she was. This was not the Sarah he knew, and he was glad. For the Sarah he knew would have pushed him away by now, and demanded that he returned her home.

"You won't blame me for anything that happens in the next few minutes, will you Sarah?" he asked devilishly.

"Of course I won't" she exclaimed, gravitating towards him, and with that he leaned in for a tender kiss.

The touch of her soft lips startled him, and all of a sudden he felt the same attraction that she thought she was feeling. The kiss was supposed to be his way of getting back at her, but what he didn't prepare for was the abrupt surge of passion that pulsated through his body, and at once he was defenceless, for he couldn't pull away. She sighed in happiness, as her false desires were becoming fulfilled, and though he knew it was wrong he couldn't help but respond to her wish for the kiss grow more intense.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ludo arrived at Hoggle's hut. He had brought a large stack of firewood with him to keep them warm during the increasingly chilly nights they were having.

"Sarah?" he bellowed, knocking with his heavy fists. But no one answered. The giant then pushed open the door, and peered his large head into the dwelling. The house was empty. "Sarah gone" he told himself, then shook his head, knowing that Sarah was supposed to be back by now to start the fire for when Hoggle returned from his chores. "Ludo go look for Sarah."

Ludo began to walk through the woodland, shouting out Sarah's name as he did so. But on his travels, he was sure that he could hear someone calling his own name from down below.

"Pssst" came a sound, that seemed to derive from the red and white toadstool on the ground.

"Huh?" Ludo grunted in confusion and peered down at the floor, and after scratching his head for almost a minute, he decided that he had just imagined the voice. Then, just as he was about to turn back around, he noticed a little head poke out of the toadstool.

"Pssst, Ludo" called the squeaky voice. This time, when Ludo looked down, a tiny garden gnome presented himself before him. He had a green pointy hat, and rosy read cheeks, and seemed rather nervous as the giant tried his best not to step on the little sprite. Ludo bent down to get a better look. "Ludo, I know where she is!" he revealed, gazing around anxiously as he spoke. Ludo tilted his head, not quite understanding what the gnome was saying. "The girl…Sarah!" he clarified.

"Sarah?" Ludo asked excitedly, in a raised voice, which caused the gnome to withdraw back into his toadstool. But when the gnome disappeared, Ludo became confused again, and started to walk away.

"Wait!" called the gnome, re-emerging from the fungus to save Ludo from another minute of head-scratching. "Yes, the human girl! I watched her through the trees. She was heading straight toward Jareth's castle! She didn't seem…well…herself!"

"That's bad" affirmed Ludo.

"Well, then go! Go save her before it's too late!" he cried. And with that, the gnome vanished for the last time.

Ludo stood still, looking perplexed for a moment, but then grasped onto what he had to do. He clumped straight through the forest to head towards the Goblin City and knew that he wouldn't return until his Sarah was safe.


	6. Crown of Stench

Jareth peered down at the beauty, who slept soundly beside him. An elated sigh escaped from her lips as he swept his naked hand across her forehead. Though he knew it was wrong, it felt good to have her in his arms. Her soft white skin was warm and touched, as if she had been made love to softly all night. However, Jareth had made sure not to cross that line with her; not whilst she was under a love charm. The thought crossed his mind, of course - as well as the idea to keep her under the spell for the rest of eternity. But deep down, Jareth knew that he did not want her love in that way. If he was to ever take her virtue, it would be because she had wanted it.

So, when morning had broken, he quietly removed a crystal from his sleeve, and absorbed the enchantment from her restful body. Then, he left her to sleep in peace.

* * *

Unlike Sarah, it took Ludo forever to traverse the Goblin City. To his misfortune, the goblins had surfaced and the poor beast had to endure yet another fully-fledged battle. Some of the little brutes charged at him and began to pound him with their little fists. Ludo would have been able to toss away one goblin easily, but whole bunch of them was much trickier. If only he had gathered Didymus, Hoggle and his other accomplices before he so candidly trudged into the Goblin King's domain.

A bit further away, two other goblins were loading up a cannon which they were planning to fire at him. The others stepped back as they lit the big gun, but a more stupid goblin dived onto the beast just before and unintentionally took the bullet for him. He rocketed into the air and landed with a clunk. As the others ran to help him, Ludo finally managed to slip away and headed directly towards the castle.

* * *

**Eight and a half minutes later...**

The creaking of the rusty marble door kindled her from her deep slumber. Then, her eyelids began to open. From the first few blinks, everything seemed hazy, but instantly she knew she was not where she should have been. She sat herself up on the spongy divan that she lay on, and focusing her eyes, she recognised that she was positioned on a bedstead, which rested inside a vast chamber. Confusion flustered her face, for she did not know why she was lying in a bed; a large one at that. Not like the dilapidated, musty bed that she slept on in Hoggle's hut, but a bed made for a king! It had silk maroon-coloured sheets, stitched with gold embroidery and supple golden pillows. No wonder she'd been asleep for so long. It was the most comfortable bed she had ever had slept in. But whom did it belong to?

She scanned the room for more clues, and saw that whoever owned this bedroom had quite an obsession with a certain avian variety - an owl to be exact. There were feathers everywhere; on the curtains, on the carpet, hanging from the ceiling, and so forth. There were only two people she could think of that would possess a bedroom so dramatic and bird-like - an ornithologist (unlikely), or the one and only Goblin King!

But what was she doing in Jareth's bed? She couldn't remember coming to the castle. Was it a trick? Did _he_ bring her there? Either way, she knew had to get out of there before he came back, so she removed the quilt and hopped off the mattress.

'Phew!' she thought, noticing that she was fully-clothed. At least she could rule out a night of heavy drinking and unmindful passion. 'Nothing happened, nothing happened' she kept on thinking, as she stood in the centre of a feathered rug and spun around to scan the entire area. After all, when would she ever be returning again?

Though large, the room had a cosy feel to it, with plenty of carvings and statues of many different legendary creatures; goblins, gremlins, unicorns, et cetera - all which she guessed were figurines of real-life creatures located somewhere in the Labyrinth. The thought of a unicorn existing within the maze appealed to her greatly, and she couldn't help but reach out for the statuette and observe it closer. But as she did so, she felt a large shadow cross her path. She gasped, and turned around to face whoever had discovered her whereabouts.

"Ludo!" she shrieked, quickly placing the unicorn back onto the mantelpiece. The beast did not say anything, just titled his head in bewilderment. This caused her to feel more nervous. "Ludo, it's not what you think. I don't even know what I'm doing here!" she explained.

"Sarah sleep?" quizzed the giant.

"Yes, yes, that's all! I fell asleep!" she said with urgency.

"You sleep more?" asked Ludo, preparing to leave now that he had seen his Sarah was safe.

"No, no! I don't need to sleep anymore!" she cried as she ran over to the beast and gripped his furry paw. "Let's just go okay!" She pulled him out of the door, to find herself standing in a dark narrow corridor with a hint of light coming from the far end of it. Leading him slowly down the passageway, she bit her lip in hope that no one else would see where she had been.

When she reached a small brown door at the end, she pushed it open hesitantly, and a sigh of relief struck upon her when she entered the throne room to find that Jareth and his goblins were nowhere in sight. The last thing she wanted to do was see _him_ right now, whether he knew about her presence in his castle or not.

"Quickly!" she told Ludo, as they both raced out of the castle and down the suspiciously quiet streets of the Goblin City.

* * *

It seemed that Sarah had underestimated the length of time she had been gone, for when she and Ludo arrived back at the hut, Hoggle was stood outside of the door with an apprehensive expression, which turned into a rush of relief when he saw them approach the house unharmed.

"And where 'av you two been?" the dwarf questioned, with a slight hint of fury in his voice. Hoggle was known for his grouchiness, but it was rare for him to be this angry, especially at Sarah.

"Sorry, Hoggle! I went out for a walk. We…we lost track of time!" she lied, catching her breath while Ludo trudged behind her.

"A walk? You've been gone for hours! I was just about to send a search party out for yer!"

"Sarah sleeping. Sleeping in cas…" Ludo tried to say.

"I fell asleep in the junkyard," she quickly interrupted, not wanting anyone else to know about her embarrassing situation.

"The junkyard? You knows you're not s'ppose to be going that far, Sarah. You and your nosiness!" Hoggle sighed. "Well you better come inside. It's getting dark. You don't know what trouble you'll get yourself into if you start wondering around and falling asleep where you shouldn't."

Oh didn't she just know it.

* * *

Later that evening, Sir Didymus and his steed arrived at the hut to keep Sarah company. He and Sarah made themselves a small fire using the kindling that Ludo had previously collected, while Ambrosius snoozed in the corner. The dog yelped in his sleep, causing his master to roll his eyes at the fact that he remained a coward, even in his dreams. Hoggle was out gathering food, since Sarah had failed to do so during her apparent daytrip to the Junkyard. Hoggle wasn't stupid. He knew something about her explanation didn't quite add up. He couldn't trust her to stay on her own, so he invited the noble fox over to ensure that there was no repeat of the day's earlier upset. Not that he had anything to worry about, for Sarah herself knew that she would not be venturing off on her own again for a while. She didn't want to end up in anyone else's bed with no memory of how she got there for a second time. She was just thankful that no one else knew about it.

Or so she thought.

"My brother told me about what happened, my Lady. He said that he found you sleeping…in King Jareth's bed. Are his allegations true?" asked Didymus.

Sarah hit her head against the side of her bed in humiliation. How could just Ludo tell him about that? Though, she knew that blaming the naïve animal was pointless, since he didn't have a malicious bone in his colossal body, and wouldn't have revealed her secret out of spite.

"I don't even know what happened Sir Didymus, honest! One minute I was inside a tree talking to a strange troll, and then the next minute I woke up in Jareth's bed. Between that, it's all a blur. I think I remember running up a tower of stairs, but I don't know why. It's crazy! How can I not remember?"

"Alfred," Didymus uttered.

"I'm sorry?"

"You must have encountered Alfred, my Lady. Or Alf, as I think he prefers to be called. Well, that explains it all! When you saw this troll did he, by any chance, offer you a drink?" asked the fox.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "It was a horrible green slimy liquid. I didn't want to drink it but he seemed persistent. It had a sickening taste though. Do you know what this drink was?"

"I'm afraid I do. It was a love potion, my Lady - crafted to attract the first creature the drinker sets their eyes on; apart from Alfred himself, of course. He's immune to the stuff!"

"I… I can't believe it!" Sarah felt sick. She had been made to think she had actually fallen in love Jareth, and he must have taken complete advantage of her.

"Nor can I," said the fox. "But I can't understand why a troll would want to do that to you."

"Oh, I can! He was put up to it!" she stated undoubtedly.

"By whom?" queried the fox.

"I'll give you one guess," Sarah looked at the fox and gave him a nod.

"But…but King Jareth didn't even want to see you. Why would he make Alfred give you a love potion to entice you when he told you to stay away from him?"

"I don't know. But I'm sure as hell going to find out!" She stood up and clenched her fists, with anger and determination in her eyes. Seeing this excited the fox.

"Ahh, finally! A battle! Fear not, my Lady. I shall be sure to defend your honour. I will swing my sword like this…" Didymus started waving his cane around, as if it were an actual sword. "and then I will swing it like this!"

"No! No, Sir Didymus!" she urged, clamping her hands on the cane so he could no longer swing it. "We're not going to fight the Goblin King. I don't think I'll ever be ready to face him again. I'm going to ask the troll why Jareth put him up to this. That's all!"

The fox looked disappointed.

"Very well," he uttered, wondering if he would ever get to be the hero.

* * *

However, what Sarah did not know was that if she wanted to confront Alfred, she would have to wait in line, as just a few acres away from her location, somebody else was keeping the troll preoccupied inside his tree, and whoever it was did not seem happy.

"What are you talking about? I gave it to her just like you told me to. Didn't it work?" asked Alfred in usual his crotchety tone.

"No, it didn't! You sure you gave her the right potion?" questioned the being behind the scheme. But it wasn't the Goblin King that stood before the troll. It was a small dwarf, a dwarf with a red hat, wispy grey hair and a love of plastic jewellery.

"I told ya! I gave it to her!" yelled the troll.

"Then how comes she didn't fall for me?" Hoggle enquired.

"Silly dwarf. If you'd have listened to my instructions before running off so fast, you would've heard that the potion drinker will fall or whoever she sets eyes on _first!_ She must've seen somebody else before you!"

"Somebody else?" asked Hoggle, in a dejected tone. "But who?"

"Well, if it isn't the great and powerful Hogspawn!" boomed a voice from behind him, a voice which made Hoggle jump from his uneven skin.

"Jareth! Y…Your Highness! What are you doing 'ere?" Hoggle cowered before his majestic ruler, now dressed in a bared-chested grey shirt and black breeches, and appearing rather enraged.

"Now, now Hoggle. Do I, the Goblin King, need a reason for roaming about my own Labyrinth?" He paced around the dwarf as a means to intimidate him.

"No, o' course you don't! But there's really nothing to see here," Hoggle insisted, trying to disguise his nerves as best he could. "Ain't that right, Alf?" he said to the troll. Alfred nodded uneasily. It seemed that the large troll was utterly terrified of the Goblin King; more so than Hoggle.

"Why, what is this?" interrupted Jareth, who caught sight of the troll and the mixture of green potion. Then he picked up the ladle and examined the mixture closely, turning his nose at the smell.

"Th…that's my love potion, Sire" confessed Alfred, much to Hoggle's displeasure. Surprisingly, Alfred's usual brusque tenor was replaced with shivers and whimpers now that the Goblin King was in attendance. "The dwarf, he…he told me to make it for the young lady. He wanted her to fall in love with him! Only she didn't see him first!"

"Really?" Jareth teased. "Well, I never would have guessed! Hoggle, the repellent scab, has fallen in love - with Sarah, of all people!" Then he laughed. "Oh, dear! What a pity someone else got there first," Jareth gave him an evil smirk, which penetrated through Hoggle's defeated eyes.

That was when the dwarf realised...

"It was you, weren't it? She saw you first!" Hoggle looked horrified. Of all the people she could have seen, and it was Jareth - the man he was afraid of the most.

Jareth's smile grew wider.

"Don't look so sad, Hoggle. I'm sure you'll find another ugly little dwarf to love someday."

Hoggle was crushed. More often than not, he tolerated Jareth's torment, but this was too much for him to take. Without thinking, he raised his craggy fist and thumped the King right in the leg. Of course his tiny hand didn't do any damage, but Jareth was infuriated all the same. When Hoggle realised what he had done, his whole body trembled, and the livid expression on Jareth's face told him that he was in deep, deep trouble.

"I'm sorry, Master! I didn't know what came over me! Please don't…" But it was too late for apologies. The Goblin King pulled out three crystals and juggled them in his single hand, fixating his stern eyes on Hoggle all the while. The faster he juggled them, the more they blurred together. "Oh dear," Hoggle gulped, as he watched the crystals spin around faster and faster until they blended together completely. Alf quivered in the corner, watching Jareth's expression became more and more stern as the crystals spun so fast, that they transformed into a small crown.

A crown? Both Hoggle and Alf gazed in confusion, while Jareth placed the crown on top of Hoggle's head. Why would he give him a crown, unless he wanted him to become a king? Or a prince?… A prince.

Hoggle remembered the words Jareth had spoken years ago.

"_If she ever kisses you, I'll turn you into a Prince…Prince of the land of Stench!"._

'He wouldn't?' Hoggle thought, but his thinking was irrelevant, since he already had.

"Arrggh! What's that awful smell?" cried Alf, holding his nose as the odour of decomposed fish, human faeces, rotten flesh and stagnant water flooded the tree's interior. It was immediately apparent that Hoggle was, in fact, the dealer of the appalling stench. The dwarf took a whiff of himself and almost fainted. It must have been bad if even Alf couldn't be near him.

"Please, Master!" begged Hoggle, struggling for air. "Take the smell away!"

"As long as you wear the Crown of Stench, you will be forever known as the ruler of Stench!" announced Jareth with a wicked smile as he watched Hoggle attempt to remove the headdress from his cranium. He showed no sympathy at all, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the dwarf's odour. "Oh, and in case you didn't know, the crown is imperishable!" he laughed, flipping back his platinum mane in a superior motion.

After sneering a few more times, Jareth vanished, leaving his stern cackle to ricochet about the malodorous air.


	7. Elva

The godawful stench lingered strong inside of Alf's tree. It was so nauseating, that even the troll himself, one of the smelliest creatures known to the Labyrinth, had to depart his own home.

"Sorry dwarf, but I gots to get me some air!" He dashed over to the opening of the bark and emerged into the sunlight, sprinting as fast as he could to get away from the pong.

Poor Hoggle was left to feel utterly dejected. His heart pounded so rapidly, that he found it hard to breathe. After a moments thought, he, himself, ran fled from the tree in an attempt to escape the odour, but wherever he went, the stench came after him, like a heavy cloud of toxic gas. It was humiliating. How could he face anyone ever again? How could he face Sarah?

Before he even had time answer that question, the girl under discussion came into his view, for while Sarah and Sir Didymus made their way to Alf's abode, they were stunned to be almost knocked over by Hoggle's speedy pace.

"Hoggle!" cried Sarah, as she clutched the dwarf's arms so he couldn't escape. "Where are you off to in such a….?" But before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly she got a whiff of the most excruciating odour. "Urrgh! What's that awful smell?" she complained, covering her nose with her sleeve. "It's disgusting!"

"Smell? Why, I smell nothing but a fragrant breeze!" declared Didymus, who stuck his snout into the air and inhaled with pride. But the fox's words did not matter to Hoggle, who bowed his head in embarrassment as Sarah tried hard not to breathe in.

"Has the Bog flooded or something?" she asked, bowing her head in an attempt not to vomit. When Hoggle failed to reply to her, she looked at him. 'Funny' she thought. Why was he wearing a small, old crown on the tip of his hat? And why did he look so distraught? The gruesome breeze swept through her nostrils once more, and that was when she realised who the possessor of the terrible stench was - Hoggle! Feeling bad that she had just insulted her best friend, she removed her sleeve from her face, trying not to show how difficult it was to do.

"Don't come anywhere near me, Sarah," Hoggle implored, as he backed away from the twosome.

"What…But wait, Hoggle? What's happened?" She waited for him to answer, but when he didn't, she formed her own realisation. "Jareth!" she frowned, clenching her fists when she spoke his name. She was already disgusted with the King for last night's exploits, but now he had started messing with her friends, she felt furious.

"Jareth!" tutted the fox. "Why, who does that scoundrel think he is? I say we challenge the Master, and fight him to the death! Come, let us proceed to the castle, and defend brother's honour!" he avowed, propelling his staff into the air.

"I think you're right, Sir Didymus. We have to confront him!" Sarah agreed. Seeing Jareth was the last thing she wanted to do after waking up in his bed with no memory of what happened, but this was no longer about her. "But no fighting!" she warned, taking the staff away from the fox's hand and placing it back into his holster. Sir Didymus sighed and muttered pitiful words under his breath. But just as they were about to storm off to the castle, Hoggle grabbed onto Sarah's legs in an attempt to stop her.

"No! Don't! I beg ya!" he cried, clutching desperately onto her calves. But when got too close, she began to recoil at his stench, and almost vomit. She tried hard to regain composure, but the odour was just too overbearing. Seeing her sickened expression was more than Hoggle could bare, so he let go of her legs and immediately fled from her sight, running as fast as he could out of the forest.

They tried to call after him.

"Brother? Don't leave!" called the fox.

"Hoggle! Wait! I'm sorry!" Sarah yelled, feeling extremely upset that she had just flinched at her friend's closeness. It was the first time she had ever seen Hoggle truly sad, and it was all her fault. No. It was all _his _fault! That foul, pompous King! Oh, she would confront him! But first she needed to make sure Hoggle was safe. "Didymus, I have a mission for you!" she said suddenly.

"A mission? Why I'd be honoured to serve you, my Lady. Whatever it is, I shall do it!"

"Go and find Alfred. See if you can get him to admit to why Jareth has been casting spells over us. Then, go and fetch Ludo. We're going to need all the help we can get if we want to stop Jareth from doing anymore damage."

"I shall go right away! Ambrosius! Ambrosius!" he called. A few seconds later, the cowardly dog surfaced from some nearby shrubbery, and trudged up to his master. Didymus climbed onto the mount, and gave him a clout on his side. "Tally ho!" he yelled, as they raced off through the forest, on route to complete their mission.

Now, Sarah was left to find Hoggle. She knew it would be better if she went alone, for Hoggle was a sensitive soul and seemed more vulnerable than ever right now.

* * *

"Hoggle! Hoggle!" she shouted, as she ran through the grassy twists and turns of the complicated forest. The sky was dark so it was hard to see where she was going. Once or twice she had tripped over a trig or branch, and strained her ankle. She was beginning to feel tired and hungry, but she knew she couldn't stop until she found him. Maybe he'd gone back to the hut? He was too scared of the forest to go roaming about in the dark. 'Yes' she thought. She'd go back to the hut and check if he was there.

However, before she turned around to head back she noticed a small glowing light in the distance, between the leaves. Was it Hoggle with his lantern?

"Hoggle?" she shouted as she ran up to the light. "Stay there, I'm coming over to you."

She sprinted toward the lantern, feeling relieved that she had finally located him. But to her amazement, it wasn't a dwarf that she encountered. When she reached the source of light, she screamed as something small, alive and fast collided into her face.

"Ouch!" screeched a high-pitched voice. "Watch where you're going, you stupid girl!"

Sarah gazed in front of her, and saw that there was a tiny fairy sitting on the edge of her shoulder, brushing her pixie-clothes down before flying into the air with her delicate through wings. Sarah thought the sprite was very pretty. She had an orange dress made from autumn leaves, and short red fiery hair. Her tiny face boasted beautiful long eyelashes, which concealed her striking blue eyes, and her lips conveyed a rosy, yet arrogant, pout. The shining light she had seen before, turned out to be the fairy's own natural glow.

"Why are you smiling at me!" the imp questioned. She was so dainty for such an angry fairy.

"You're just so beautiful," Sarah declared.

"Well, that's nice and all, but I'm still waiting for you to tell my you almost killed me?"

"Oh, I'm very sorry. I thought you were someone else. You see, I'm looking for my friend, Hoggle. He's a dwarf. You haven't seen him, have you?" Sarah asked.

"That ugly oaf? No I haven't."

"You know him?" asked Sarah.

"Of course I do. He's been living in the same forest as me for as long as I've been alive. He tried to spray me a couple of times in the past but that was back when he was mean. Ever since some girl came told him not to spray us a few years ago, he decided to give up spraying fairies for good. I don't know who she was though, which is strange because I know nearly all the creatures living in this Labyrinth, and all of the stories that go with them! And since I don't know you, I'm not going to trust you!" The fairy childishly stuck out her tongue, then turned her back and proceeded to fly away.

"But wait! That girl was me!" Sarah professed, causing the fairy to turn back around.

"You?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Yes, I came here years ago to rescue my brother from the Goblin King, and when I saw Hoggle spraying the fairies, I told him it was a horrible thing to do! Then I got bitten by one." Sarah stroked her finger, as if it were only yesterday.

"Yes, we do tend to bite sometimes. What can I say? Flesh tastes good. But, since you stopped the oaf from spraying us, I'll let you off! He must've really thought a lot of you to give it up! My name's Elva, by the way."

Elva stuck out her hand for Sarah to shake. Hesitantly, she entrusted her smallest finger into Elva's palm. Luckily, she didn't bite it, and Sarah relaxed.

"And mine's Sarah," she smiled, glad to meet a new friend.

"Funny name!" Elva laughed, then flittered back and forth in front of Sarah to show off her dazzling wings some more. "You know, Hoggle never usually comes out into these parts of the forest at this time of night. What's got him down this time?"

"Well, I'm afraid he's very upset at the moment. Jareth has cast some kind of spell on him that makes him smell exactly like the Bog. He became so humiliated that he ran away! I'm very worried he'll do something terrible!"

"Nah, I doubt it. He sulks for a while but, he always goes back to his repulsive, smelly, scabby self eventually. Besides, he's been through worse things!"

"Really? Like what?" asked Sarah, intrigued. Then the fairy gave Sarah a concentrated look.

"Don't you know about Helga, the love of Hoggle's life?" asked Elva, to which Sarah gazed in amazement. Hoggle was in love? Why would have kept something so big from her? "Yeah, Helga. She was a dwarf too! The only other dwarf who lived in the Labyrinth. This was years ago, mind you. Back then, Hoggle was much less crabby. He would do anything for her; make her favourite meals, tend to her when she was ill. He was head over heels in love with her! King Jareth used to laugh at them and make a few snide remarks, but generally he left them alone. All the other creatures were extremely jealous of their love - except me, of course! I'm the independent sort. But, anyway, one day, the Labyrinth was struck by a horrible storm that lasted for days and days. It was so bad that no one would even come out of their homes, and then…"

"Then what? What happened Elva?" asked Sarah who was now intrigued by the tale.

"Hoggle told her to leave it but she just wouldn't…" she continued, her voice getting more animated. "You see, Hoggle had given Helga gold necklace for one of their anniversaries. It was the finest gift he had ever given her, and if you know Hoggle, you know how nutso he is about his jewels. Anyway, she cherished the necklace dearly, but when the storm was at its peak the pendant blew out of the window. Helga ran outside to try and fetch it, even though Hoggle begged for her to come back. She finally got hold of it, but by then it was too late…the hundreds of tornados that were spinning in the air swept her away. A few days later the storm cleared, and out came the beaming sunshine. But the beautiful sky couldn't erase the sadness on Hoggle's face when he found Helga's body. We didn't know whether to cheer for the disappearance of the storm, or weep for the loss of Hoggle's only true love. She didn't even manage to keep hold of the necklace."

"That's heartbreaking!" said Sarah, wiping the tears which now streamed from her face. She had no idea Hoggle had such a deep and troubled past. Now she knew why he liked to keep himself to himself.

"Hmmm, and by the looks of things, it's starting to happen again," Elva gazed up at the sky and saw the dark raincloud that had been looming over the Labyrinth for the past week.

Sarah felt a mixture of feelings; sadness, guilt, anger. How could Hoggle not have told her about this? Everytime she had teased him about being incapable of affection in the past, he must have been aching inside, being reminded of all of the love he had lost. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him but she couldn't have a relationship with a dwarf just to save his feelings. Could she?

* * *

The atmosphere was still, and the night was at its blackest. Fatigued, Sarah dawdled back into the cold, empty hut that Hoggle called 'home'. She had hoped he would have gained the courage to return by now, but the dwarf was nowhere in sight. In an ideal world, she would have searched for him until the crack of dawn, but her eyelids told her otherwise as they covered her pupils, succumbing her to the darkness.


	8. Confrontations and Confessions

_To my readers: As spartiechic kindly pointed out, Chapter 5: Stolen Kiss, had been missing for a while and instead was a duplicate of Chapter 4. This has been sorted now, so anyone who became confused please read from chapter 4/5 again. Thank you! Keep the critique coming guys! I love writing for you :) katieakakatie on Twitter :)_

* * *

The first strokes of sunlight hit the dew that dampened Sarah's eyes, and the panic took root once again. The haze of Elva's story still lingered on the brink of her mind, and as she glanced across at Hoggle's bed, she saw that it was empty. He hadn't returned. At least, that was what she thought, until she heard the sounds of pots and pans clanging in the small room that Hoggle called a kitchen. Sarah's eyes lit up. He _had _returned!

She dashed out of bed and raced into the kitchen, but became shocked to see a pan of water boiling on the stove unaccompanied. Hoggle was nowhere in sight.

A few seconds later she saw the cupboard door open. She watched as a large glowing egg came out of it and rose up into the air, as if by magic . It hovered for a second, then it flew across the room and broke into the pan. A thick purple yolk seeped from its shell and began to simmer. The delicious smell began to gorge the atmosphere, and intoxicate her senses. She knew what it was; a rare dragon egg that Hoggle had been saving for a special occasion. However, he never mentioned anything about it being able to fly on its own.

'Huh' she thought, bewildered by the magical flying egg, which, once poured, retreated back into the cupboard.

"Now, what goes with egg?" asked a voice - a spunky voice that sounded somewhat familiar.

It was then Sarah realised the egg hadn't been flying on its own, but it was in fact Elva that had been there all along! The little fire-headed sprite shut the cupboard door, and turned to face Sarah, waiting impatiently for an answer.

"Elva, what are you doing here?" Sarah asked, annoyed that the fairy had broken into Hoggle's cabin, as enchanting she seemed.

"I followed you home last night! I figured now the dwarf was out of town, I could finally make use of his kitchen and cook myself a decent breakfast. So, what else goes with egg?" she asked again, flitting around the kitchen like she owned the place. Sarah wasn't sure if she liked Elva intruding like this. "Don't worry! I'm making it for you too!" stated Elva, who seemed to guess what Sarah was thinking.

But Sarah wasn't even hungry. Usually, she and Hoggle would wake up and eat breakfast, but the thought of food made her feel queasy. Her best friend was vulnerable, and out there all on his own. The only thing she wanted to do was find him, but the Labyrinth was such a vast place, she had no idea where to start looking.

"I can't eat. I have to find Hoggle! Elva, you know this place better than I do. Do you have any idea where he could be?"

Elva shrugged, completely ignoring the desperate tone in Sarah's voice. She appeared to be too engrossed in her cooking, her mouth-watering as the purple yolk began to bubble into something edible. But when Sarah had gone quite, she took pity, and attempted to offer some support.

"Look. I wish I could help you. Really! I do! But a runway dwarf who smells like the breeze of a duskheap could be absolutely anywhere! There's only one person in the entire kingdom who will know for sure where he is!"

Sarah sighed.

"I suppose you're right. I have to face him at some point, so it might as well be now."

"Really? You're going to see King Jareth!" Elva asked in excitement, suprised that Sarah was actually taking her advice. "Can I come with you? Please, please, please!"

"I…I guess."

Elva stopped stirring the egg mixture and somersaulted into the air with excitement. Sarah frowned. Who could ever get excited over such a vile man?

Nevertheless, off the two of them went, braving the blustery winds to confront the King.

* * *

Meanwhile, a lonely dwarf sat amongst the putrid rocks and algae of the stinking swamp. For where else would the Prince of Stench belong, but the Bog? Hoggle seemed weary and morose, and his clothes had turned brown from the noxious odour. It had been almost a day since he had fled, and no one had come looking for him. Then again, why would they? He couldn't even stand to be around himself. The only creatures that dared to go near him were the toads that lived beneath the quagmire. And toads were not the best of company, not even for a dwarf.

"Get off me!" he grumbled, kicking the slimy amphibians away from his feet. "Mangy creatures!"

"But you're our Prince!" one of the toads croaked as it jumped up onto his shoulder and licked a fly from his cheek.

"Am not!" Hoggle yelled, flexing his eyes to the top of his head where the Crown of Stench was glued. It was evident that his head had become sore from the number of times he had tried to yank it off. He reached his hands up to his temple in a last attempt, but became distracted by a floating crystal that seemed to be heading straight towards him.

The mystical orb danced around him several times, before settling at his eye-level, and within the bubble, he could see _her - _his Sarah. Her eyes were red and weary, as if she had been crying throughout the night. He could see that she was strolling through the forest with a perky little fairy, and Hoggle knew that just outside of the forest lay the entrance to the Goblin City. They were heading to the castle!

'Oh no!' he thought. Sarah was going to challenge Jareth, and then she would find out the awful truth! Hoggle knew that he had to stop her.

* * *

Pushing open the doors, Sarah and Elva marched down the corridor that led to the castle's Throne Room. Tens of goblins were causing havoc on the scene - throwing chickens in the air, brawling with one another, and making a complete dog's breakfast of the floor - but Jareth was nowhere to be found.

Sarah saw three goblins standing in the far corner. One of them was picking his nose, as the other two watched attentively, fascinated by the brownish-green gunk that he extracted from his left nostril. She went over to them, deciding that they were the least intimidating of the bunch, while Elva followed closely behind.

"Where is he?" Sarah demanded. But the two goblins simply looked at each other and shrugged in misunderstanding. "I said, where is your King?"

"I dunno. Gone." said one.

"Gone where?" she asked, tapping her foot in impatience.

"Gone to fetch some cheese!" the second goblin chipped in.

"No, no, he's gone to changes his clothes!" said the third.

The goblins all laughed, and at that moment, Elva flitted up to them and grabbed one of the goblins' musty shirts.

"Alright you mangy scuzzballs, if you don't tell us where Jareth has gone right now…"

"Then I'm sure a little leprechaun, and an emotional young woman would be able to take on my entire army?" a voice intruded. It was Jareth. Turning around, they saw him. Funnily enough, he appeared with a fresh new set of clothes and a keg of cheese. He had changed into a cream-coloured ensemble half made up of owl feathers. The tension between him and Sarah was strong. They hadn't seen each other since she was under the love spell, and he just knew from her livid expression that she had come for another dispute. Still, he acted casual, like the thought hadn't crossed his mind. "Alright! Let that last you!" he yelled, slamming the keg on the floor for the goblins to stuff down their faces. "I keep them happy with cheese. They're easier to control that way!" he admitted.

"Cheese! That would have gone with my egg! We could have had omlettes!" Elva chirped, smiling at Sarah enthusiastically. Sarah just scowled, both at Jareth's nonchalance and Elva's obsession with breakfast.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you not to pull faces, or you'll stay like that, Sarah?" Jareth mocked.

"Didn't yours ever teach you not to kidnap babies and young girls?" she bit back.

"I think you're forgetting, Sarah, that it was in fact _you _who asked me to take your brother away, and it was _you _who trespassed into my Labyrinth a second time, despite my warnings, so think again before you accuse me of kidnapping. Besides, you seem to be enjoying yourself here. I see you've made another little friend to add to your collection. Hello Elva."

Elva giggled coyly.

"Enjoying myself? How can I possibly be enjoying myself when you've humiliated one of my best friends? Not to mention the fact that you've been ordering the troll to spellbind me just so you can use me in your twisted games! How dare you trick me like that?"

"Sarah, I did nothing of the sort. I never told the troll do anything to you. As for Hoggle, I had every reason to cast him under that spell, for your own protection, if anything."

"And what's that supposed to mean? I don't need protecting from Hoggle. I need protecting from _you_! Don't make me think that I came to the castle consciously the other day. I was in a trance and you know I was. You took advantage of me, Jareth! Are you really that desperate?"

"How dare you defy me? I wouldn't flatter myself into certainty if I were you, Sarah. Yes, I was fully aware of your trancelike state, but I assure you, I was not the one who cast the spell!" Just as Jareth spoke, an excruciating whiff came seeping through the foyer - one that made the goblins flee from the scene. "And the culprit arrives."

"Hoggle?" quizzed Sarah, relieved that he was safe, yet confused that he had come to the castle. The dwarf seemed so different to how she knew him. He looked older, as if each of his wrinkles had sunk deeper within the space of a day. He also appeared terribly ashamed, and she had no idea why.

"O' dear" muttered Hoggle, as he realised the seriousness of what he had done to the two.

"Now, you can ask him yourself!"

"Hoggle, what does he mean?" Sarah asked worriedly, waiting for an answer, as he tried to hide his face from her sight. "Hoggle, tell me!" she urged.

He took his hands away from his head and looked up to face her. But the hopeful anticipation in her eyes was too much for him to confront. He bowed his head and began to reveal the truth.

"I'm sorry Sarah. I don't expect you to forgive me. It was me. I told the troll to give you the drink" he said mellifluously.

"W…Wh…I don't….But why, Hoggle?" she asked.

Hoggle didn't answer.

"Not saying Hoggle?" Jareth said scornfully. "Oh you might as well expose yourself now". Hoggle still stood with his head slouched down as Jareth gloated. "No?" he continued. "Well, I'll tell her then. This here dwarf is in love with you Sarah. He has been from the day you first came here. Why do you think he let you come here so easily when you asked him? He knew that I'd make you stay here forever, and that was a great opportunity for him to make you fall in love with him. Hah? Imagine that. A dwarf marrying a human. It's almost nauseating to think about."

"Stop it!" yelled Sarah as she watched Hoggle dash from their sight with shame. She tried to call after him but she knew that the poor dwarf felt much too humiliated to face her right. As Jareth continued to laugh she felt sick to be in his presence. "You disgust me" she spat, before leaving to chase after Hoggle. As soon as she departed, Jareth ceased his laughter, and his expression changed to that of regret.


	9. Tempest

After Sarah had disbanded from the castle, Jareth retreated to his throne. He did not know why he felt the need to be so cruel towards her, but cruelty was the only thing he knew how to do well. It was an accepted fact that he despised the human race for their stingy ways. In his opinion, humans were shallow and greedy, and only thought about the physical things, as opposed to art and the appreciation of its beauty. Or so he assumed until he met Sarah. Her grace alone told him that depth and artistry may well exist in the mortal world after all. She was kind and pure, and at that moment, Jareth felt like the most selfish being in all history. For in spite of everything, all the king had ever wanted was a queen to share his world with - but the way she looked at him with such repulsion just a few moments ago, told him that she could never love him.

"Why so glum, Master?" a little voice quipped. Jareth became startled by the sudden intrusion, until he saw that it was only the fiery-haired pixie who had failed to depart when Sarah did. As small as she was, Elva was a bright spark, and knew exactly what was troubling the king. "It's _her_ isn't it?"

"What about her?" he snapped, getting annoyed at the way she flitted back and forth in front of his eyes in a showy fashion.

"We fairies are small, but not stupid. I see the way she gets right under your skin. You never let other beings get to you unless you…"

"Unless I what, Elva?"

"Unless you...care for her." She muttered these words with contempt, and when Jareth failed to respond she knew she had been right. "Bah! What do you need her for anyway? There are plenty of prettier girls to choose from?"

Elva fluttered her eyelashes so fast, it looked like she was having a slight convulsive attack. But Jareth was oblivious to her attention-seeking bid, as he had other things on his mind. Since, at that moment, a herd of panic-stricken goblins came rushing through the castle doors.

"What are you doing here, scoundrels? You're supposed to be out minding the borders!" he proclaimed, watching them all head straight towards what was left of the stale cheese and ale he had brought in earlier.

"Too windy!" a dense one replied.

"Don't be foolish, you pesky little oaf! You've never disobeyed my orders because of a slight breeze! Now, get back out there and mind the borders!"

"Not just breeze! Big, big winds!" another added.

Just then, a nostalgic glaze came across the kings face, and he knew what was coming.

* * *

Concurrently, Sarah found herself caught in the midst of the vigorous gales, as she went onward in her search for Hoggle. The strength of the wind took her aback. She had never known the conditions of the Labyrinth to be so harsh, but on this particular day it was quite unsettled. In fact, it seemed to worsen with every step she took. She clutched her shoulders as the cold drafts blustered against her tiny frame. Leaves darted about the air in an angry dance, warning her to get back inside, but she knew that had to find her friend, for he would be out in this brewing tempest also.

Onward she went, braving the storm as the blasts of air now thrust against her, almost as if it was trying to attack her. The forest trees swished and swayed, howling violently as they did so, like great monsters in the sky. Glancing up at the clouds, she could almost make out a face; one that smiled wickedly, and told her she would not survive what he was about to throw at her.

Feeling apprehensive, she scanned her surroundings to look for shelter, but all she could find were trees with less-than-inviting arms which thrashed at her to go away. One of the branches swung so fast that is struck its woody finger across Sarah's cheek and caused her to bleed.

Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, something began to descend from the demonic heavens. A spec of air started to twist and turn; so much so that it grew in size, until it ripened into a full-grown tornado. Sarah yelped, as the violently rotating column of air collided with the ground, and proceeded to waltz about her like a teasing specter. She screamed, and grasped onto the tree that had once clawed at her, trusting it now more than anything else in the forest. But the tree was already losing its roots, and she knew it was only a matter of time before the vortex made its decision to cease its taunts, and engulf her fragile soul. She could already feel its breath, luring her into the stratosphere, inhaling her with its gravitational might. The overpowering waft of stale ventilation told her it wouldn't be long now, as her fingers began to lose grip of the branch she so desperately clung to. It was too late for the leaves and the soil on the ground, for they had already been taken by the windstorm. This made it a lot harder for Sarah to see clearly as they darted about her horizon, striking her face as they did so. Sarah could fight many things but the sky wasn't one of them, and as the twister thrust towards her she let go of the tree and succumbed to its power.

* * *

The world was still, and black.

'So, this is death' became her first thought.

It sure felt like death. She could feel the blood dripping from her pounding cheek from where the branches had scratched her, and she could still smell the rankness of the dirt and earth that had spun around her. Oddly enough, though, she did not feel the slightest bit dizzy. In fact, she didn't recall spinning around at all. She could have sworn it felt more like she just floated away. It was more of a relieving feeling, if anything.

Still, she decided to remain shut-eyed and silent, as opposed to facing whatever death had in store for her. That was until she felt a thick, gooey substance splashing onto her face, scalding her cuts and bruises.  
She yelped, and opened her eyes to face a toothless goblin, who she now realised had been drooling over her all along.

"She's alive!" The goblin smiled, as it continued to lean over her, and splosh her face with is rancid bodily fluids.

"Alright! That's enough, Gemble. Give her space," commanded Jareth from behind. The goblin quickly scuttled away, then Sarah turned her head to see the Goblin King stood beside his very own bedstead; the one she had previously caught herself in.

"Wh...what happened?" she asked, quivering in shock. "I'm..not dead?"

"I'm just as surprised as you are, Sarah" Jareth said, producing a silk handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiping the drool from her cheeks. "That tempest was a ravenous one. Why, if I'd have reached the tempest any more than a second later...Well, it would have eaten you alive!" he chuckled.

"You…saved my life?"

"You're welcome" he replied, obnoxiously, causing Sarah to spring up from the bed and remove the covers in anger.

"No, no, don't act like we're suddenly okay now. I'm still furious about what you've done to Hoggle! How could you humiliate him like that after all he's been through?"

Jareth rolled his eyes, annoyed that the girl he had just saved from death still had the pesky little dwarf on her mind. He clenched the handkerchief he had used on her, and crumpled it into pieces. If she was going to act hostile towards him, then so be it.

"Because that is the way it works," he sighed. "I lay down the rules, and he does whatever I command. Come now, Sarah, if I suddenly start going soft on Hogwart, or any of the other creatures for that matter, then the Labyrinth will turn to an frenzied circus!"

"I don't care about your stupid Labyrinth! Hoggle didn't deserve that!" she yelled. "He's been one of the nicest friends I've ever had, and right now he feels like he has nothing to live for! I have no idea where he is, and it's not fair! It's just not far!"

Sarah began to weep, and in a rush of frustration, she ran over to the end of the bed chamber. Her fists couldn't help but thump the walls, as Jareth looked on, now concerned. He had always thought she was a composed, together sort of girl, but her aggravation showed that she clearly had a deeper side.

"Sarah, calm yourself!" he demanded, as he walked over to her and held her arms down. She quickly found that was too tired and aggravated to object to his actions. "Come, into the foyer, and I'll have one of my servants deliver you a fresh beverage."

* * *

In a third of an hour, Sarah had regained her composure, and sat calmly small wooden stump in the grand foyer. She felt rather uneasy being so frail in the Goblin King's presence. It was so easy for her to stand up to him in the past, but now she simply felt helpless. The fact that he had saved her life made it harder for her to hate him, and the fact that Hoggle was still missing made it difficult for her to concentrate on anything else.

"I'm just so worried about him," she whispered; her first words since Jareth had brought her downstairs. They had both been sat in silence the entire time - Jareth playing with his crystals, Sarah sipping down her goblet of apple cider.

"Now, now. Hoggart has been dwelling in this Labyrinth for decades. Yes, sometimes he gets cranky, but he soon recovers," he assured, rendering Sarah mystified as to why he was trying to comfort her.

"But he looked crushed! I'm afraid he might do something stupid!"

"Well, if it will console your feelings, I'll alert the guards to be on full lookout for a suicidal dwarf!" he joked, but Sarah glared, showing that she was less than impressed.

"I'm being serious! I've never seen him so mortified! He's never ran out in the dark on his own before. What if he's out there, and the storm has gotten him?"

"The worst of the storm is over now, Sarah. The air is perfectly clear."

"Still, I'm so worried! Oh, why did I have to mislead him? I should have made it clear that I loved him as a friend and nothing more!" complained Sarah.

"Sarah, it's not your fault" Jareth said, softening his voice down a little, seeing how distressed she was.

"I know. It's yours!" she snapped. Jareth frowned a little but didn't retaliate. He was beginning to get used to her blatant crankiness. "Why do you always taunt him Jareth? Isn't it enough to know that he's mourning for his dead true love every single day of his life?" asked Sarah.

"Ah, so you know about Helga!" he said. "Yes, they were a smitten little couple. Pity about what happened to her. But time doesn't stop just because someone loses somebody. You're a clever girl, you should know that! When you lost your brother, you had to deal with it, didn't you? Nobody tiptoed around your feelings. That's just the way life works, even for creatures in the Labyrinth. Besides, that was centuries ago. Hoggle would have gotten over her by now."

"Maybe he hasn't! Maybe he's still grieving for her inside, but won't show it."

"Or, maybe he's turned his attention over to somebody else. Maybe, Sarah, you can give him the love he still yearns for," He said this with a straight face but Sarah just knew he was pulling a scornful smirk underneath.

"You know that's impossible. I don't love him in that way. Besides, he's of a completely different species. It just wouldn't work," she stated.

"It isn't completely unfeasible to fall in love with someone of a different species you know Sarah" said Jareth. "Not if you really, really loved them. You can't say that you could never fall in love with somebody just because they're a little different, could you?"

"Well I suppose not" she said not really sensing what he was really saying. "But like I said, I don't have those type of feelings for him. I just want him to be safe. I'm so worried."

She bowed her head in sadness, and something about this touched Jareth, for deep down, he admired the way she cared so much about others. He left his throne and came to kneel beside her. He hesitated for a moment but then he gently placed his gloved hand on her face and began to wipe away her tears. She looked up at him and for a second they gazed into each others' eyes, sharing a compassionate bond just for a moment to say that even though they had their differences they still understood each other. Jareth then removed his gaze and quickly stepped away from her, almost as if her eyes had hypnotising powers and if he looked in them too long the deep pools of hazel would overpower him and cause him to lose his authority.

"I'll send Elva out to look for him if it'll make you feel better" he said austerely.

"Can't you send some of the goblins?"

"Ha! My goblins are so crocked, they'd end up traversing to the human world and snatching someone's baby...Oh wait, he joked, but sarah was less than impressed. Still, he had a point. The storm had caused the goblins to inebriate themselves even more so than usual. One of them had been cartwheeling around the room stark-naked for the past ten minutes. Sarah had been trying hard not to give it any attention. "No, Elva can brave the storm," he continued, but without Sarah knowing, Jareth had signalled something to one of the goblins, who quickly ran off outside to carry out his master's secret plans. "Fairies are a lot stronger than you would believe. Besides, she's already ate her way through the entire keg of cheese. I don't want her starting on the ale. A sober fairy is one thing, but a drunken one...Well, you don't want to know."

Sarah caught herself smiling at this. She could just imagine what Elva would be like intoxicated; flying so fast she'd be crashing into the walls, and flirting with Jareth even more so than usual.

"You look like you need to rest some more" he said, noticing the shy yawn she had just produced, along with her red and puffy eyes.

"You're probably right. I'll go back to Hoggle's hut and then I'll know if he returns."

Sarah stood up and walked over to the main doors. But when she opened them she was stunned to see that the Goblin City had turned into a battle zone. What was before a silent metropolis now was filled with riots, cannonballs, and blazing fires. It looked much harsher than the last goblin battle she had witnessed. Even the giant metal guard at the door had surfaced! Everytime it moved the whole ground shook. It would be impossible for Sarah to make it out of there alive, especially now she was alone!

"I try to control them but sooner or later they always end up in a battle" said Jareth who unknowingly had walked up to stand right behind Sarah. She turned around to face him.

"I don't understand. The City was silent just a few moments ago!"

"Their goblins! Asleep one minute, totally barbaric the next!"

"You mean this happens all the time?"

"Oh yes, almost every week!" he replied, calmly.

"But how am I going to get home?" she asked.

"My, my, that is a tricky one isn't it. Even I can't stop this battle, and usually a large one like this usually lasts for most of the night! It gets even worse when they manage to break into the second alehouse. Well, I suppose you could always sneak into one of the goblin's houses when the war quietens down. That is, if you don't mind listening to a bunch of drunkards chanting songs all night?" From her disgusted look, he could tell she wasn't best pleased with his suggestion. "No? I thought that was just your style. Well, the only other option is to stay at the castle!"

Sarah looked at him nervously.

He could tell what was bothering her.

"You'll sleep in the spare room, of course! I can assure you that you will not be waking in up oblivious to where you are and unaware of what you had previously done," he said with a slight smirk.

"I just can't believe that it happened" she said. Jareth lifted his brow. "I woke up not remembering anything and well, in a way I was kind of glad that I couldn't remember."

"Then you'll be happy to know that nothing did happen!" he snapped.

"Really? Well then why did I wake up in...?"

"How should I know!" he interrupted, snappily. "Now stop asking questions. You will stay in this room until it's night. Then I will send someone to accompany you to a room where you will sleep for the night" he said before he began to walk away.

"Wait! Where are you going? You can't just leave me here. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to eat? What if I need to…" Sarah demanded.

"The goblins will sort that out for you" he told her, with a hint of mockery in his voice.


	10. Drunk Like a Skunk

_I'm sorry it took me so long to update this, but my laptop broke. Don't worry, its fixed now, and updates will resume as normal. Here's a long one for your patience :)_

* * *

For the next hour or so, Sarah remained in the large foyer, with only a few savage goblins for company. Presumably, these were the more sluggish creatures, that cared more about drinking themselves to death, rather than going out to battle. Still, not one of them seemed less than barbaric. They didn't pay one bit of attention to her needs, as she sat timidly on a little stump in the corner, not having the nerve to go and sit on the majestic throne that presented itself before her. Now, ordinarily, Sarah would not have given the goblins even the slightest morsel of attention, but the girl was ravenous, and had not gorged down anything for nearly a whole two days! And since she passed on Elva's attempt at breakfast this morning, she was beginning to feel faint.

Noticing that the cheese that Jareth had brought for them was still being passed around, she wondered if she could get them to offer her a chunk or two. But which one would she ask? She didn't know how to be aggressive like Elva.

At first, she attempted polite conversation with the scoundrels.

"Please, could you break me off a bit of that cheese?," she inquired to a large-eared fellow, who sat half-asleep in the corner, clutching onto a huge block of cheddar. He opened his tired eyes to look at her, but simply frowned then turned his back. She saw a few other goblins look around to see what she was asking for, but they only sniggered to themselves and carried on with their drinking and partying.

Becoming impatient, she raised her voice a little.

"Does anybody have any food they can offer me? I'd be extremely grateful!" But it appeared that the louder she spoke the more they laughed and tried to ignore her with their foolish games. This caused her to become angry, and so she proceeded to shout. "I command that you bring me some food now! In fact, Jareth commands that you do so!" she lied. "He told me, if you don't give me some of that cheese, he'll...he'll be off with your heads, selfish creatures!"

Still, nothing. She screwed up her face.

"That's it!" She marched over to the nearest goblin. This time it turned around and looked a little scared when he saw her cross expression. She picked him up by the scruff of his neck and looked the ugly creature in his eyes. "If you don't tell me where I can get some food right now, I will not be sorry for my actions!"

She waited a moment, until the goblin looked as if he was going to give in and say something. He slowly opened his mouth, as Sarah and all of the others watched in anticipation. She thought her forcefulness had finally made him listen, but her hopes were destroyed when the goblin let out a great big belch that bubbled in her face. The foul stench that emitted from his breath caused her to squirm and drop him on floor, while the other goblins burst into an array of laughter. Sarah groaned. How did Jareth cope with these mangy creatures everyday of his life? It must make him crazy!

'Crazy? I'll give them crazy' she thought, and she ran into the crowd of the cackling pests and began to kick and yell at every one of them. Undoubtedly, they fought back and started to gnaw at her legs. She shrieked and booted them away. Eventually, it sprung out into a full goblin fight, with Sarah picking each of the the goblins up in turn, and throwing them across the room. To her dismay, they actually seemed to be enjoying it, so she became even more aggressive by punching them in the face. It wasn't like her to be violent against creatures, but these gruesome puppets became an exception to her. She was so intent on destroying all of them, that she didn't even notice the owl that flew through the small window. It flew gracefully over to the throne and perched itself on the seat where it then magically transformed into the Goblin King himself. He laughed to himself as he watched Sarah frantically chuck about his shabby goblins. A few of them finally looked around to see there master and immediately stopped what they were doing. The few goblins nudged the others until they were all looking around at him apart from Sarah. Seeing that they had stopped fighting, she curiously followed their gaze until she finally saw the Goblin King.

"Jareth!" she gasped, feeling shocked and a little embarrassed about the fact that he had watched her lose it once again, only this time with the goblins. It wasn't like her to keep losing her composure. Being in the Labyrinth for too long was turning her into a frantic mess.

"Don't stop! I was rather enjoying that performance," mocked the King.

"It wasn't a performance," she uttered, coyly straightening herself up. "They wouldn't listen to me, when I asked for something to eat."

"Oh, what a pity! And there I was hoping you would all break out into a song and dance routine," Jareth teased.

"It's not funny!" But Sarah couldn't control the twitching movement that the corners of her mouth had made. It was the first time Jareth had ever seen her smile at him, even though it was only a half-smile. It comforted him to know that her walls of steel could be melted if he tried hard enough. All he had to do was say the right words to make her smiles become more frequent, and then she would start to feel more comfortable in his presence.

"Yes, well, now you know how I feel every hour of every day. Believe it or not, Sarah, the life of a Goblin King isn't all that easy sometimes," he admitted mournfully, although his sorrow was slightly exaggerated in attempt to gain some sort of rapport with the girl. In a melodramatic gesture, he turned his back to her, secretly hoping his sudden change of temperament would spark some sort of sympathy from her. And as luck would have it, something struck a chord with Sarah, for she never thought the Goblin King would show his vulnerable side and confess that he wasn't entirely happy with the position he so often vaunted about.

"I bet it gets lonely sometimes," The kindly words just flew from her lips, and Jareth smiled, his back still turned. He was finally getting his sought after compassion from the girl. Oh, how clever he felt at that moment. He turned to face her, and looked directly into her eyes, trying his best to form an empathetic gaze.

"That it does. But allow me to be clear, Sarah. Being the Goblin King has its merits; never having a care in the world, never having to do anything that I don't want to do. But what is privilege without passion? What is the point of being King, without...well, without a..."

Before he could finish, a large bearded goblin wearing robes a little less shabby than the rest came surging through the doors.

"Apologies, your majesty. I know I'm late. You sent for me?" he panted.

The goblins intrusion clearly annoyed Jareth, but at the same time he felt a morsel of relief. For, he was just about to admit to Sarah that he had been searching for a Queen to rule by his side, and her frustrated expression proved to him that it was best he remained quiet for now. He did not want her to get the wrong impression; even though it was the right one.

"Sarah, this is Vadmir," Jareth sighed. "He will be your servant for tonight. He will show you to your room, and respond to anymore requests you may have, so long as they are just," He gave her a suggestive look that warned her not to try anything funny. "I trust you're hungry. I have arranged for your dinner to meet you up in your room."

* * *

Soon after, Sarah was shown her way down a dark and damp corridor, which led to an old, rusty door. It seemed as if the door had not been opened in years, for it had been dispersed in masses of cobwebs. The large bearded goblin waved his hands over the door to try and eradicate some of the webs, but it appeared that several large spider-like creatures still inhabited them, and angrily hissed as the goblin tried to them all off. Sarah flinched and yelped as the creepy-crawlies admitted defeat and fled down the corridor.

"They're only spiders. There are far worse things in the Labyrinth than these harmless creatures" tutted Vadmir. "Now, if I could just get this key in the hole" he said as he fiddled with the door. "Ah…done it. Here you are then" said the goblin as he pushed the creaking door open to reveal what looked more like the inside of a cave rather than a bedroom. The walls were made of dark stone so that every noise Sarah made created a ghostly echo. All the room was made up of was a bed and a chest of drawers, which, after the spider incident, Sarah didn't even want to look in. There was another door that lead into a bathroom which contained a poorly maintained toilet and sink. It was as if this room was built for a human inhabitant many years ago, and had been abandoned ever since. She hardly believed that the Goblin King needed a lavatory. "I'll leave you to it" said the goblin.

Sarah lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. The mattress was cold and lumpy. Some of the springs were poking through, so she had to curve her body around them. She suspected this was the goblins doing. She could just picture them sneaking into this room when the Goblin King wasn't looking, and jumping up and down on the bed like it was a bouncy castle. 'Well, thanks a lot, goblins!' she thought, struggling to stay in the arched position she had to place herself in so she didn't cut herself on the was far from the comfort she had experienced waking up in His Majesty's chamber, but at least here she could be alone, and free from embarrassment. And as she rested, her thoughts turned away from the goblins, and their master, and back to her poor friend Hoggle. She hoped that Elva would find him soon, and convince him to return home.

* * *

"Stupid Jareth, sending me out to look for that ugly, big oaf!" Elva muttered to herself, as she flitted about the Goblin City, avoiding the bullets and cannons that shot about from the goblin battle. The sky had gotten dark now, and was filled with smoke from the several bonfires that the different goblin tribes had created. Evidently, this war was a big one, but none of it fazed the courageous sprite one bit. "Why does he care anyway? I know why! _Her! _Pfft! What does he see in that glassy-eyed, damsel anyway? She's not even that pretty!"

Just then, a mass a goblins dashed passed her, shouting and jeering as they charged towards an opposing crowd.

"Shut up!" yelled Elva from above. "I'm trying to whinge! Urgh, can't a fairy bitch about a human girl without silly goblins drowning me out!...I only have a little voice you know!" she bellowed, loudly.

But as she flew to the corner of the City, she came a cross a different kind of uproar; not an angry mob, but drunken chanting.

"Hmm...No matter how big the battle, there'll always be the ones who just wanna get pissed!" she tutted, looking on at the small brewery. "Well, maybe, I'll join them! Hoggle will be okay for another hour or two...if he's not dead already!" A wicked smile smothered her face as she uttered those tragic words, and casually, she coasted over to the tavern.

When inside, she headed straight to the bar, ignoring the heap of intoxicated goblins that were scattered about the hostelry.

"I'll have a cold one!" she chirped to the grumpy goblin bartender, who reluctantly began to poor her a fresh keg of ale. Normally, the goblins disproved of fairies trespassing into their territory, but every tenant of the Goblin City knew not to mess with Elva. She was too smart, and too quick for each and every one of them.

As the goblet was passed to her, she submerged her entire face into the frothy liquid.

"Ahh, that's better!" she gasped.

"You wanna watch yerself, Elva! If you fall in and drowned yerself...*hiccup*...don't expect no one to be saving yer!" said a croaky voice from the other side of the bar.

He sounded familiar, but it wasn't the voice that made her recognize who it was. Elva could smell him before she could see him, and as she turned her head, her eyes fell upon a drunken little dwarf, who sat on the very end stool of the counter, making sure that he stayed as far away as he could from the other goblins. Not that they cared too much about the smell. In fact, the goblins were the only ones who seemed to be able to tolerate it, as much as he hated them.

"Hoggle!" Elva screeched, staring in disbelief at the unstable dwarf, who still sported the cursed crown on his head. "You're drunk! My, things really have gotten bad!" she teased, finding it utterly amusing that he chugged his ale so that it missed his mouth completely poured all down his front.

"Oh, buggle...*hiccup*...bugger off, you...you f-fairy!" he stuttered, wobbling back and forth on his stool, clutching to his almost-empty drink like it was his last lifeline.

Elva ignored his words, and did the opposite, gliding towards him playfully, only to recoil in disgust when she got too close.

"Poo! You really do smell bad, don't cha?" She held her nose as she spoke. "Well, as much as I'd love to "buggle off", I was sent here specifically to come and find you, and now that I have, I must order you to go to the castle!"

"And why would I wants to do that?" he frowned, gulping down the rest of his ale, and demanding that he have another one. When the bartender ignored his requests, he climbed on top of the stool and scrambled onto the bar in an attempt to reach the keg of ale himself, only to fall off on the same side he was already sat.

"You stupid oaf!" yelled Elva. "You really think Sarah is going to be happy when she sees you like this! She is in that castle right now, waiting for you! That's why you must go there!"

The mention of her name caused him to sober up almost immediately, as slowly he picked himself up from the floor, and gazed softly into what seemed like an alternate universe.

"Sarah...She's still in the castle?"

"Yes, and I'm happy to be the first to tell you that when she found out about your true feelings for her, she realised that she felt the same way about you! Of course, you ran away before she even got to say!" Elva lied; one of the most horrible lies one could ever invent. But Hoggle wasn't convinced.

"Nah, I don't believe you!" he replied. Elva knew was going to need to add more to the story if she wanted to get him to believe her.

"Really? Then why did she brave the tempest earlier, just to look for you!"

"She did?"

"She nearly got herself killed for you, Hoggle!" she exclaimed. It was sort of true. She did nearly get herself killed for trying to find him, only it wasn't because she was in love with him! 'But what harm could a little white lie do?' thought Elva.

"Oh...oh my...is she already...*hiccup*...i means, is she alright?" he panicked, now believing every word Elva said. He knew she was spiteful at times, but she would never be so cruel as to lie about something so serious.

"She is now! She's back there, sobbing her heart out!" Elva cried, causing Hoggle's eyes to widen with curiosity. "She's head over heels for you, Hoggle, and all she wants is for you two to be together, but she fears you're dead!"

"She...she does?" he queried, with delight, seeming to forget that he smelled bad for the first time, as he edged closer to the fairy, happy to be hearing from her, for once.

"You must go and tell her you're alive!"

"Yeah...yeah, I must...must tell her!" Hoggle staggered away from the bar, and began to totter towards the exit which would take him to the ruckus that was the Goblin City. It took him several attempts to locate the vast space in the wall that was the doorway, but eventually he stumbled through it. "Sarah...Sarah will be mine!"

Elva looked on, rolling her eyes at the pathetic scene. She could not believe a dwarf that had lived in the Labyrinth for son long could be so darn gullible.

"And Jareth will be all mine!" she smiled, malevolently, satisfied with what she had just done.


	11. Passion on the Promenade

In the fractures of the mirror, Sarah glanced at herself. Her face was no longer worn and pallid, but fresh and rosy. Her eyes widened as she raised her hand to her head, surprised that her tresses felt freshly washed. Supple ringlets that fell upon her face, while the rest of her hair gathered to form a sophisticated bun. With her other hand, she slid her fingers down the ivory satin that bred her gown. She saw that it glistened with the rays that crept through the stone walls of the castle's chamber. It seemed funny to her, how radiant she looked amongst the dank hollow, like a rare diamond that had become lost in the depths of the gravel. She did not know why, but she felt impatient, and whatever it was she was waiting for began to prey upon her mind. Peering out the window, she saw a crowd of goblins. But it wasn't a battle that brought them to a mass! Instead, they all sat patiently in front of an alter, anticipating the arrival of someone. That was when Sarah's heart jerked in fear. Could they be waiting for her?

Her instincts warned her to run, but before she could even think about an escape plan, she was already outside, pacing down the lengthy aisle that had formed throughout the entire Goblin City. Her heart pounded as her legs carried her further and further down the gangway. Creatures of the Labyrinth celebrated as she strode to her fate with a veil over her face and a bouquet of calla lilies in her hand. So many faces, and none of them she knew. Though they were smiling, they made her feel uneasy, for she had never known goblins to show kindness, especially not for a human girl.

As she neared the alter, she caught sight of the bridegroom who had been awaiting her arrival, and suddenly everything became tranquil. He gazed into her eyes and smiled softly. She beamed back, happy at the thought she would soon be betrothed to the one and only Goblin King! Oh, how handsome he looked - although, his sleeves were a tad poofier than usual, and his hair was a little wilder, but none of that bothered her, for she knew she belonged to him.

However, as she reached to take his hand, he scooted to the side, revealing that he, in fact, was not the groom, only the best man! And right there, in front of her, stood a little shabby dwarf, who gaped lovingly into her eyes.

"This is the 'appiest day of our lives" he grinned, striking her with panic. She loved Hoggle, she really did, but marrying him? It was unthinkable. She wanted to voice her feelings, but sooner than she could blink, the ceremony was already in full swing.

"We are gathered here today in the face of the Goblin City, to join together Hoggle and Sarah in matrimony; which is an honourable and solemn estate and therefore is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and soberly," summoned the minister, who Sarah now realised to be none other than Sir Didymus. As the fox continued to speak, she also saw Ludo, who stood by the side of the alter, wearing a small bow-tie which he had attached to his fur, smiling happily at the scene. Behind her, was Jareth, who stood with an empty expression, simply watching as the service went on. "If any one can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace. Who gives this lady to be married to this dwarf?"

This was her chance! All Jareth had to do was object to this foolish charade... But nothing.

The sermon went on, and appeared to be speeding up with every word Didymus spoke. Though, Sarah wasn't really paying attention to anything he was saying. She was too busy gazing at all the goblins behind her, who ogled at her with their exaggerated smiles.

"I do!" exclaimed Hoggle. The words shook her back into reality, and made her take notice of the fact that her hands were now in the palms of the dwarf's. It was as if some outside influence was making her do all these things involuntary. It appeared that she had already been uttering her vows without any control over what she was saying.

"And my Lady, do you take for your lawful wedded husband, to live in the holy kingdom of matrimony? Will you love, honour, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live in this Labyrinth?"

The fox, who held a familiar red book up to his pointy nose, urged for her to respond. Hoggle, too, pleaded with her to say the words. But all Sarah could do was look behind at the man she had thought was to be her true husband. Strangely, his hair had grown a little longer since she last glanced his way, rendering her more and more curious about the scene. Still, she scanned his face for some kind of indication of what to do, but his features remained motionless.

"I...I..." she hesitated.

"You must answer, my Lady!"

Once more, she cast her eyes to the fixed countenance of the Rapunzel-like Goblin King, only to receive no defence. Her lips proceeded to part without her say so, and reluctantly she spoke the words.

"I do!" she cried dramatically, to which the everyone cheered, everyone apart from Jareth, who showed no emotion whatsoever.

"In so much as Hoggle and my Lady have consented to live forever together in wedlock, and have witnessed the same before this company, having given and pledged their troth, each to the other, and having declared same by the giving and receiving of a ring, I pronounce that they are husband and wife."

On the articulation of the word 'ring', Sarah noticed she wasn't even wearing such a thing, but instead Ludo stepped up and jingled a small bell in front of their faces. It seemed that the Labyrinth hadn't quite grasped the full concept of a human wedding.

"You may now seal the promises you have made with each other with a kiss." urged the fox.

Sarah stared at the dwarf and became filled with unease. His lips were pursed and ready to smooch. She grimaced as he leaned in closer, inches away from planting a warty smacker on her mouth.

'This is wrong' she thought. But the external force still overruled her objections, and thrust her head forward, but not enough to prevent her from letting out a protesting scream.

"NO!" she shrieked.

* * *

Awake, she jolted, in an awry mess of blankets and bewilderment, desperate to flee the lumpy mattress and wipe the globules of sweat that had dripped from her forehead. After she had processed the fact that she had not just gotten married to an inhuman dwarf, she let out a heavy sigh of relief. Just to be certain, she glanced out of the window to see that the goblin battle was still burgeoning. She was assured when she saw a flash of light, followed by a poof of smoke, launch a goblin into the midnight air.

Refusing to stay in that torturous cell any longer, she crept over to the door and carefully pulled on the door-hold, praying that it's high-pitched creak hadn't woken any of the castle's inhabitants - if there were any. The elderly goblin had led her far from the main hall of the castle, and far from where the Goblin King's chamber she had previously encountered lay. The thought of that soft, lavish bed made her feel angry that he had appointed her to such a morose dungeon. He was probably laughing at her right now, priding himself over the fact that she was trapped in his world. She hated that.

So lost in her thoughts she became, that she failed to noticed the small foyer she had stumbled across on her travels. Just ahead of that foyer, rose a flight of stairs she had never come across before, and Sarah being Sarah, decided to ascend.

When she arrived at the top, she was staggered to find herself standing on a concealed terrace, situated to the rear of the fortress. Since it was completely open, with no barricade, she had to be vigilant not to step too close to the edge of the craggy beige rock that the castle was composed of. From here, she could make out the spire of the castle, and looking further out into the distance, she could see the vast expanse of the Labyrinth, stretched out as far as her eyes would take her. The scene took her aback, as if she had discovered the secret window into the entire universe. There were so many secrets, so many adventures and journey's that she could be taken on. What other strange creatures lurked behind the stone walls? Were there more Goblin Kings? Queens?

She stepped forward to admire it some more, glad that she had uncovered this place, for she was prepared to stay and marvel at the landscape for the remainder of the night. As seconds went by, her eyes flickered in all directions. There was so much too see, she did not know where to start. The fact was, she had become so preoccupied with panorama, that she hadn't seen that at the very far end of the balcony a small ledge extended out from the castle, and at the end of that ledge sat another soul, who had also come to appreciate the kingdom - _His _kingdom!

* * *

Concurrently, Hoggle was teetering up to the gate that would direct him straight into the heart of the castle. There was only one person on his intoxicated mind, and now he had been told that he was the sole subject of hers, nothing would stop him from reaching her.

"I'm on me way, Sarah!" he croaked, pulling up his trousers, which now resembled a shapeless potato sack. His garments had virtually fallen apart from the stench that permeated his wrinkled body, so he had to try his best to preserve his modesty, even when in a drunken stupor.

* * *

In contrast, there was man who possessed not a modest bone in his body, and this man was presently being observed by Sarah on the sly.

Jareth posed on the ledge. With one knee bent and the other stretched, he watched over his Labyrinth like a lion would watch over the pride-lands. But his expression was not one of haughtiness, like Sarah had first thought, but one of melancholy. His lips wilted, reflecting the yearning in his eyes. But what was was he yearning for? Sarah could only guess. In spite of this, she felt like she had intruded on his private moments, and turned to retreat back into the castle's interior.

"You may stay..., if you wish."

The power of his voice stunned her footsteps, and she swerved back to find that he hadn't even tilted his head to see that she was there. He just knew. He must have known all along. This made her feel ill at ease. Stumbling on his whereabouts by accident was one thing, but stopping to watch him for several minutes was the vulgar behaviour of a Peeping Tom. She didn't know what to say so once more, he broke the lingering silence.

"Trouble sleeping?"

This time he faced her as he spoke. His midnight eyes piercing into hers, so full of vitality, unlike in her recent nightmare. His velvet ensemble only added to the mystery that made up the man.

"What do _you_ think?" she replied rather viciously, implying that the room he had sent her to was hardly fit for a young girl.

Jareth only laughed at her response, one of those supercilious cackles she was beginning to detest. She did not quite know how to respond to this. Her usual instinct would have been to raise her voice up to the shrillest level she could, demanding that he returned her home, and stopped tormenting Hoggle. However, past experience had taught her that things just weren't _that _fair, especially not in the Labyrinth. If she wanted to get anywhere she had to take a different route. Sarah had to use the one thing she had over Jareth - the human touch.

"It's beautiful up here. You can see for miles!" she stated in a dreamy tone.

Her declaration caused Jareth's eyes to widen in amazement. He looked at her as with curiosity she gazed out into the great beyond. She did look charming in the moonlight.

"This view kind of makes up for all the hardships and dangers of the Labyrinth..., not to mention the goblins," she continued, causing suspicion as to why she was being so compassionate towards him. Being a Goblin King, he was used to handling creatures who lied, cheated and showed little or no empathy at all, so he wasn't quite sure how to deal with her sudden attempt at it.

"It's not all that bad," he answered, deciding to avoid questioning her behaviour and simply see where the conversation would go. "There are feasts, live puppet shows, masquerade balls..., and that's just the non-magic side of it!"

"Balls? Like the one I…I mean…" Something halted her from finishing her sentence, for she wasn't so sure she wanted to remind herself of that time, but Jareth knew exactly what she was getting at, and wanted to explore the subject further.

"Yes, that was a rather enchanted evening, wasn't it? Such a pity that you didn't stay long enough to enjoy it."

"I had a responsibility!" she reminded, fully aware that he was teasing her.

"Ah, yes...your brother!" he cited, as if he had hardly remembered Toby's capture. "Well, even so, you could have stayed to say goodbye to your guests. It was _your_ party after all."

"Oh, please."

"What?"

"I didn't exactly fit in there, did I? All those people whispering and laughing at me! And _you, _you..."

"Yes?"

"Nothing," she sighed, after a brief cause.

Jareth arose, and took a step towards her, challenging her armoured stance. The terrace was small, so his closeness slightly unnerving. His sultry breath released a bouquet of sweet aromas in the air, and this made her feel unwillingly comfortable in his presence.

"You're right, Sarah. You did not fit in at all at that ball." He paused to take her hand in his, and not knowing why, she let him. His slender fingers slid into hers and clutched gripped each of them in turn. Smiling at her lack resistance, he glanced into her eyes. "Not one of those dancers had half the beauty you had."

After those words, Sarah was caught.

* * *

At the same time, Hoggle had finally stumbled upon the whereabouts of his true love, after searching throughout the entire castle. He had heard the sound of her soft voice, and followed it to the pinnacle of the fortress - a perfect place for them to declare their undying love for one another. Excitedly, he planned on what he would say to her when he reached her. Then he decided that maybe words did not need to be spoken. Maybe a kiss would say everything. Besides, he wasn't the most sober, so a speech wasn't going to be the most alluring.

But as he emerged onto the promenade, he was dismayed to see she was not unaccompanied. And when he peered closer, he was crestfallen at the sight of her holding hands his immortal nemesis. He watched them in the shadows, his beady eyes swelling as the girl he held dear fell into the arms of another soul.

"Jealousy. It's an ugly thing. Those guests at the ball could only have dreamt of possessing your innocence, your purity. Why, the other women wanted to be you, and the men wanted to be with you. But not one of those men were good enough for you, Sarah. Not one of them."

Hoggle listened in to Jareth's attempt at wooing her. What a sleazebag, he thought. Surely, she wouldn't fall for that?

"Why not?" she whispered, leaning in closer to his touch.

Oh dear, she's falling for it.

"Because Sarah, you're a delicate flower, one that will be crushed by the hands of any of those brutes. You need someone who will fawn over your magnificence and allow you to shine, not some repellent little scab!"

Hoggle knew exactly who he was referring to, and it crushed him. Jareth was fully aware the dwarf was behind them, even though Sarah wasn't. At first he pondered why she couldn't sense his notorious odour, but soon realized that Jareth would have probably shielded her from the scent with his own fragrant charms.

"Jareth, I..."

But he shushed her, and pressed his finger to her lips.

At least it was only his finger, Hoggle told himself. But before he could be thankful, Jareth leaned in for a real kiss.

The moment their lips pressed together in a fervent embrace she couldn't tear herself away. She never knew a kiss could be so breathtaking. Maybe it was the fact that he used his magic to make everything seem more rousing, or maybe it was simply because he had been her adversary for so long, and that made him a forbidden fruit which she couldn't resist the taste of. One thing she knew, was that she wouldn't let herself fall in too deep. After this kiss she would not let him take it any further but while it was happening she knew that all she cold do was enjoy it.

Now one single kiss doesn't usually mean that a couple suddenly become united forever in a compulsory bond. In fact, you can bet that tomorrow Sarah will probably regret she ever did it. But when someone else sees it, someone who had wished for so long that she'd kiss him like that - that is when the kiss becomes more that it's supposed to.

That was the moment his little aching heart broke in two. Hoggle knew about Jareth's allure, and how he occasionally tried to seduce Sarah, but he never in a million years thought that she would actually fall for him. If there was a goblin to be felt sorry for, Hoggle was the one. His sorrowful eyes gazed reluctantly at the girl he loved so dearly and the man who had stolen her from him. It was too much for him to take. He couldn't stay a moment longer. Hoggle ran back to the door and scampered out of the castle, not knowing where he would go and what would happen to his life after this day.


	12. Tricks

A kiss - while it strengthens the heart of one, it breaks the soul of another. And as Hoggle fled from the scene, Sarah continued to lose herself in the moment. Strands of ash blonde entwined with her own dusky locks as their lips locked together in a new, magnetic bond. At that point in time, she had forgotten about all the strife that Jareth had brought her, and took pleasure in his illusive enticement. But as she felt his hand slide down her back in a gesture that he wanted something more, she pulled away, for she knew better than to succumb to the King's temptations.

"Spoilsport," he pouted.

"Enough is enough." Sarah tried to sound assertive but she felt disorientated from the strength of his allure. She wasn't entirely sure whether her kiss was voluntary or not, but she chose to accept that it was. She didn't want to believe that Jareth had so much power over her, and for the first time, she felt like she _had_ been in control. "I...I think I'll go back to my room now."

"Back to that dungeon?" he questioned, removing his fingers from her face and adjusting his posture to a more regal one. "You were right, Sarah, that room is clearly no place for a lady. Why, even the Oubliette has fewer vermin!"

"Well, then I guess I'll go back to the hut and see if Hoggle's returned." She had almost forgotten about her dear friend.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Jareth motioned to the edge of the balcony, where Sarah peered down. She gasped, surprised by the chaos that the goblins had caused. The city was dark but the flames illuminated parts of the town, and she could see that the battle was still well under way.

"I suppose…you could always spend the night in my chamber," offered Jareth, to which she responded with a scowl. "I, of course, will not be there" he added to redeem himself from accusation.

"Where will you sleep?" she queried, and with that, he began to depart to the archway which would lead him back into the castle.

"I'm a Goblin King," is all he replied with, before he ceased to exist within her immediate vision.

* * *

It both delighted and annoyed Sarah how comforting the bedding was in Jareth's chamber, and if she were not so exhausted, she would have questioned her insanity for the nights' events, which resulted in her sleeping in the bed of the being she both lust after and detested. But her eyelids overpowered her senses, and with ease she found herself falling into a wistful dream, one which left her thoughts as she awoke to the sunrise.

Stretching her slender body, she peeled off the heavy quilts and tiptoed over to Jareth's colonial gold mirror. The Goblin Kings' chamber seemed to have done her complexion the world of good, and she smiled at how pretty she looked on this particular morning. She combed through her rich chocolate hair with her fingers, and dressed herself in a fresh sweater and a pair of slacks, which had been left out for her. She decided not to question it.

Once she was clothed, she proceeded down to the castle's main hall, where she heard a assemblage of goblins still on the rampage. Peering through the archway, she could see that the grand battle still hadn't ended, and she feared it might turn into a war, for even Jareth appeared trouble by the fiasco. He hadn't seen her yet, so she took the opportunity to watch him from the sidelines. A frown imprinted on his countenance while the goblins tussled and brawled beneath his feet. Sarah couldn't help but feel sorry for him. As a King, his every command should have been obeyed by his royal subjects, but Jareth had been cursed with the worse kind of followers. His fatigued expression showed that all he wanted for his kingdom was some peace and tranquility, but the chaos the goblins were cause him gave him none of that. One of the goblins punched another so hard, that it caused his only tooth to bolt from his mouth and strike Jareth's cheek from across the other end of the room. That was when the King finally snapped out his trance and clenched his fists in fury. The corner of Sarah's lip twitched, for now she was going to see him be a true King and regain control over his castle. Maybe he would cast a spell over them, and Sarah would finally get to see the dark magic she was sure he possessed. As he stepped over to the scuffling crowd, he breathed in to speak.

"Alright, fun's over! I want this City back in order by noon, or I'll set the Fireys on you, and use your heads as serving dishes!"

Immediately the goblins dropped their weaponry and began to hurry about the castle, tidying all the mess and sweeping up the ash and dust. It was that simple. Not one of them questioned their master's commands and not one of them slacked off.

"What?" Sarah yelled, emerging from the obscurity and marching up to the King. Jareth flinched when he saw her. "You mean that all you had to do was tell them to stop and they would? You made me believe that I was trapped here!" Sarah glared at him in disgust. Her abrupt confidence shook him.

"Look, Sarah...last night...you became very agitated because of what happened to Hoggle. I thought that staying the night might help you to settle down, that's all. Certainly, I could have stopped the goblins, but then you would have gone looking for him, and I didn't want you out in the darkness of the Labyrinth while you were so vulnerable." He tried his best to sound in control, but he flaked in some of his words.

"You tricked me," She gritted her teeth, embarrassed that she had fallen for his lies, and even more so that she had fallen into his arms last night.

"Oh Sarah, don't look at me like that. You had a good time, didn't you?" he asked suggestively, sensing her thoughts.

"You're unbelievable" She huffed and shook her head, before storming off out into the Goblin City. "And all this time I could have been searching for Hoggle!" she screamed, unsure if she was telling herself or him.

She strode through the city with fury in her eyes. Her plan was to go straight to the hut. If Hoggle wasn't there she would go back out to look for him even if it took her all day and all night. She would not be able to rest until she knew Hoggle was safe.

* * *

Sarah had marched for a whole Labyrinth hour and the stone walls were beginning to merge into a one single barrier of despair. What didn't help, was the goblin that had decided to follow her all the way from the Goblin City. Pew was his name. She had found this out after uttering the words 'Pee-yew' at his foul-smelling flatulence. It wasn't as odoruful has Hoggle mind you, but still he didn't have to let rip right in her face as she knelt to tie her soggy laces.

Pew had decided he would make her search for Hoggle as difficult as a goblin possibly could. He would trip her up at every turn and purposely lead her into less than desirable situations. Stumbling into an enourmous cobweb with a ravenous sixteen-legged spider was something she'd be regretting for a while. Still, she didn't have the time or energy to be put off by Pew's attempts at sabotage, especially since in the back of her head she knew Jareth had most likely sent him. What an evil King he was. She scrubbed her lips wihth brute force. In a moment of curiosity, she had chosen lust over friendship and she detested herself for that. How could she have ever thought he would be good for her? Nothing about the Labyrinth was good.

"It's not fair," she whispered to herself, no matter how sick of the expression she was.

"You said that last time!" called an identifiable voice.

Sarah saw Hank and Frank, two familiar creatures that guarded two familiar doors. One was red and one was blue. But other than that they were identical and hid behind large shields that resembled playing cards. Pew, excited by new faces, ran over to Hank and tried and gnaw at his leg, only to get kicked away.

"Get off me, you pesky little bugger!" Hank sneered.

"I remember you two," Sarah sighed. "You were nothing but a hindrance, like this whole place. This whole place is a hindrance." Every word she spoke came out quiet and frail - a reflection of the hopelessness she was feeling inside.

"No we weren't!" said the identical twin of Hank, who projected his upside-down head from the nether regions of the shield. For a second she wondered how the guards would look if she thrust their shields from their grip, but then quickly decided that she didn't want to know. "We gave you a choice!" said Franks counterpart, who also joined the banter. "And now we're going to give you another one" Frank told, while the others 'oohed' and 'ahhed' at the proposition.

"Choice? Look I'm sorry but I really don't have time for your games. I'm looking for my friend!"

"You are?" Hank queried. "Oh, our mistake! We thought you were looking for the dwarf!" The upside-down twins retreated back out of view as if the conversation had now finished.

"W...Wait! You know where Hoggle is?" she cried.

"Well one of us does! He's through one of these doors!" Hank exclaimed.

"Which one?" Sarah knew that question was pointless. Why would they tell her when they could make it so much more complicated?

"We have a monster of a riddle for you this time, Lassie!" said Frank.

"Ba ba ba bum!" chanted Hank. "Oooh, it is a tough one! Certain death might be on the cards today!" He then proceeded to whisper with his counterpart to inform him of the puzzle.

Sarah rolled her eyes. The last conundrum was hard enough for her. She was never going to solve it! But at that moment something special happened. For it was the unlikely Pew who had saved her hours of mental torture. In a moment of goblin-haste, the little brute crudely ran behind Frank and thrust open the right-hand door, and not more than a second after the door opened, a gruesome mouth with a dozen rows of sharp teeth gobbled the wee creature and spat out his ragged clothes. After a gaudy belch, the drooling giant retreated back into the door which slammed shut in their stunned faces. Then Sarah smiled.

"That takes care of two problems. The second one being that now I know which door leads to certain death," she chuffed, skipping over to Hanks doors and pushing it joyfully. "Excuse me fine gentlemen!"

"Can she do that?" asked Frank as he watched her walk away from the scene.

"I don't know," offered Hank. "I still don't understand it."


End file.
